The Avalon Incident
by Trinial
Summary: B5Sword of the Stars crossover. The Shadows were coming. Everyone knew it. Everyone, that is, except for those extradimensional humans and telepathic fish...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Babylon 5 or Sword of the Stars.**

**Time: For Sword of the Stars, this happens just before Born of Blood, as I don't know enough about that cannon to really write effectively. For B5, this begins during the build up to the Shadow War in season 3, and will continue through that conflict.**

**Author's Notes: I'm taking some serious liberties with SotS technologies and tech levels, but I think that they follow the Cannon fairly well, and will add to the story rather than detract from it. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, as are any ideas you may have. I've already got the plot lined out, but you never know.**

**The Avalon Incident**

_**Discovery**_**-class scout **_**Solaris**_

**Along the Terran Alliance/Liir Consortium border**

**July 20****th****, 2623 A.D. **

**1400 hrs**

Commander Richard Montoya ran a tight ship. He was hard, but fair- he expected everyone to do their job to the best of his/her ability. He made it a point to know everyone on the ship, not because he was a particularly friendly man, but because it allowed him to know the strengths and weaknesses of everyone aboard. This made him an effective ship's captain, but it also meant that his punishments were harsh. In fact, he was the only destroyer captain in the entire Navy who was known to use solitary confinement on bread and water as a punishment, though only for major infractions.

The crew, of course, believed this to be because his career had hit a dead end early on. Scuttlebutt said that Richard Montoya was not to be trusted with anything more expensive than a destroyer, and nothing less prestigious than a front-line command. He was, after all, an excellent leader and a war hero on top of that. He had begun his career as an ensign piloting an assault shuttle during the war, and was known to be impulsive, brash, and always walking the line between eccentricity and outright rebellion. Everything from the minor annoyance of painting "Who's Your Daddy?" on the side of his otherwise pristine and regulation shuttle, to the far more serious offense of telling off-color, if harmless, jokes about flag officers… consistently… to their faces. Somehow, though, he never crossed the line to do something truly damaging. He followed orders, never showing fear, which was almost unheard of for someone in such a dangerous and thankless job, and never broke anything except his superiors' pompous pride, if any existed.

Then, during the assault on the Tarka colony of Ke'Vorath in 2607, Montoya's wing was ordered to enter the atmosphere and begin their assault run. Each shuttle was bristling with fusion missiles, bombs, and rail guns. Their primary targets on Ke'Vorath were first the missile defense stations at the poles, then all military bases and outposts, followed by ground based dry-docks, and finally, ammo and fuel permitting, major population centers. Unlike the Tarkas, Humans did not make a habit of indiscriminately bombing worlds whenever they could avoid it.

The Ke'Vorath operation was a disaster. Intel had reported the planet defended by a handful of outdated destroyers and three medium sized defense platforms. The Third Fleet had arrived to find themselves facing not only the promised destroyers and platforms, but also a full clutch of six cruisers and the bane of any Human assault force- a Tarka dreadnaught. Nevertheless, Montoya's wing was given the go ahead to proceed with the operation. The carrier destroyers got as close as they could to the planet before launching the shuttles. That too, didn't work as planned. Standard insertion procedure dictated that the shuttles were to launch from a distance of no more than one thousand kilometers from the planet's surface. At Ke'Vorath, the Tarka defense was so fierce that the destroyers were forced to launch the shuttles from 2600 km out, lest they be destroyed before the shuttles could get away at all.

It was a moot point anyway. Every shuttle with the exception of Montoya's was blown to bits by the orbital platforms, even as the Third Fleet hammered at the cruisers and dreadnaught. Montoya, seeing the operation a total failure, diverted his course and tried to make it back to the fleet. At that time, however, he noticed that a round had penetrated the dreadnaught's armor, and he could see right into the engineering section of the massive vessel. He immediately plotted an evasive course for the behemoth, trusting in his ship's small size and general Tarka arrogance to get him there in one piece.

His gambit worked, and allowed him to get within 250 km of the breach in the dreadnaught's hull. Then Montoya let loose with everything he had, firing off all of his ordinance into that one hole, starting with his dual rail guns and working his way up to the fusion missiles. As soon as those were fired off, he turned the shuttle around and flew off as quickly as possible. The dreadnaught's reactor went critical moments later, and the entire proud ship went up in a massive fireball, taking a Human cruiser with it. Montoya himself was caught in the edge of the blast, and barely managed to limp back to his carrier.

His insane actions allowed the Third Fleet the time it needed to withdraw to the node lines at the edge of the system and retreat to friendly territory. It also earned him the nickname "Mad Dog" among officers and enlisted alike. After that, he rose quickly through the ranks, and for the rest of the war, he lived up to his nickname to an extent that appalled the admiralty. His first battle in command of a destroyer saw him charging a Tarka cruiser formation. He came out of it heavily damaged, but with four more kills to his name. So the trend went, through six destroyers in ten years, up until the end of the war in 2619. He didn't lose one of those six ships, but each was in space dock for months, and he was needed on the line, and so was transferred off. The same went for a shockingly loyal crew, who went through great pains to stay with their commander. So the pattern went, his brilliance ensuring his continued use as a ship's commander, and his recklessness in that brilliance ensuring that his superiors were careful to provide him with the smallest liability possible. That trend landed him command of the _Solaris_, a fine ship outfitted with the latest technologies, important to any front-line fleet, but still only a scout.

Commander Montoya sat in his chair on the bridge of the _Solaris_, seeing everything, missing nothing, and yet his mind was not even aboard ship. He was considering his mission. It was certainly high-profile, as scout missions go, but he saw little point to it. All they were doing was running a deep scan security sweep at the outskirts of the system. All that was this far away from the primary were two gas giants and a particularly resource-rich asteroid belt, and of course the all-important jump points. They had been making this sweep periodically for the past four months, and the only thing they really did was locate promising asteroids for harvesting. The reality of the matter was that Avalon was a high-publicity, politically risky situation. That warranted putting a semi-famous war hero on system patrol.

Avalon was a system well away from both the Tarka Empire and the Hiver Expanse. There were no enemies here. Humanity had a strong truce with the Liir, and Avalon was the proof. It was the first world to be terraformed to the specifications of more than one species. The two actually had similar environmental requirements in terms of size, temperature, air mixture, etc. In fact the only real difference was that the Liir needed more water. A LOT more water. The plan was for Avalon to follow Earth's layout: three quarters water to one quarter land, rather than the more usual half water/half land of human colonies, or the more extreme ninety percent water that the Liir preferred. The compromise would hopefully help solidify the truce into a more permanent alliance. It was even said that the Liir believed it could be used as a stepping stone to a unified galaxy, where there would be no war among the four great races. Humanity was a little more skeptical, but even they wanted to be able to say they were at peace with someone.

Montoya was brought out of his musings by a confused grunt from his sensor officer. _Solaris_' sensors were top-of-the-line deep scanners, and detected everything in the system. Or at least as near as possible to everything. There shouldn't be anything out there to confuse a sensor operator.

"What's the problem, lieutenant?" Montoya asked, his voice strong, but not unkind.

"Sir, I'm picking up a fifth jump point. It's further away from the others, but it shouldn't be there at all." This interested Montoya. Jump points didn't just appear out of nowhere.

Montoya got up and walked over to the sensor station, reading over the lieutenant's shoulder.

"Well, let's see," he said, "there's the jump point to Corvus, the one to Dorsai, and there's Shaaymi, and Lonuu. Then there's that one, six hundred thousand kilometers more distant than average, and not following any established node patterns." He considered for a moment, then said, "Run a diagnostic, just to be sure. Then, if it's still there, push the coordinates over to navigation."

Montoya then straightened and walked back to his command chair.

Sitting down, he said, "Nav, I suspect in a few minutes you'll have a new set of coordinates on your screen. When that happens, plot a course and take us there, all ahead one third. Comm, when we make our course adjustment, fire off a communiqué to Avalon control, and tell them we're investigating a sensor anomaly at the system's edge. Send the coordinates as well. We're the only deep scan capable ship in system, and we don't want the high brass to get lost, now do we?" This earned genuine, if polite, chuckles around the bridge.

Ten minutes later, the TAS _Solaris_ adjusted course, and sped of to meet a destiny none of them could imagine…


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **When speaking from a Liir perspective, I will convey their name as a Liir would, complete with the telepathic completion in parentheses, as this is considered part of the name. When speaking from a Human perspective, however, I'll leave that out. Also, I do understand that all Liir are hermaphrodites, but they identify themselves as male or female depending on which role is dominant in their life at that particular point in time. Therefore, I will write their part as a gender role, which may or may not change over the course of the story.

**Author's Apology: **When I began writing this story a few days ago, I was unaware that I was infringing on an official canon work by a similar name. Due to the fact that the names are fairly different, I will not be changing it. I will, however, pay proper homage. Official Sword of the Stars writer Arinn Dembo has written a piece called "Incident at Avalon", and it can be found at  Her screen name there is Erinys. Again, it has nothing to do with this fanfic, and I apologize for the infringement.

**The Avalon Incident**

**Chapter 2**

**Avalon System Command**

**Capital City of Nycea, Planet Avalon**

**July 20****th****, 2623 A.D.**

**1700 hrs**

Shiilu (the joy of jumping into the air in a spray of water) floated in front of her communication console. It had been several hours since the _Solaris_ had sent the message stating that they were investigating a sensor anomaly, and the Officer of the Day, a pleasant-minded Human called Lieutenant Riese, had said to alert him immediately when the next message came in from the scout.

That hadn't happened yet. Currently, the communication boards were clear of anything directed at System Command. That wasn't unusual. Half the time, most people forgot that Command was even there. After all, as Human command buildings go, it was small, and oddly placed, being on the coast, and even half in the water. For the Liir, however, it was even stranger. Typically, only the Black Swimmers needed command buildings, and they almost always put them in orbit. True, each Steel Singer foundry also had a communication console, but those didn't have to be manned. The console simply received any incoming order, and a worker would check for new messages several times a day. Liir also didn't use structures very often, and never were they half on land.

System Command, however, had to be manned by both Humans and Liir, as neither was ready to completely trust the other with the safety of a colony. Therefore, the building accommodated both species. The main command deck had a domed ceiling fifteen feet up, and that had four large transparent windows, providing ample light during the day. The rest of the room was circular, colored in a utilitarian gray, and measured one hundred and fifty feet in diameter. In the center of the room was a pool of water seventy five feet in diameter, and thirty feet deep, and led under the northern wall directly into the harbor. This was the Liir staff's work area. In the center of the pool was a pillar twenty feet in diameter, and many of the Liir-manned stations were built into this pillar, though all were only a few inches below the surface. The rest of the Liir stations were embedded into the outer walls of the pool, following a similar layout. On the top of the pillar and around the outside of the pool were the human-manned stations, above water for obvious reasons. Four bridges roughly an inch above the water led to the central deck at the cardinal compass points. Any Liir on duty noticed that the words "SeaWorld" or "aquarium" flitted through the forethoughts of many humans when they walked through the door.

At the moment, Shiilu (the joy of jumping into the air in a spray of water) was relieving the boredom of her duty by playing a game of "hide the thought" with Amuun (the contented feeling of a job well done), who was likewise unoccupied at the tactical radar. That particular post seemed silly to the Liir, as it was the job of the Black Swimmers to protect the planet from aggressors. Still, the Humans insisted that someone keep an eye to the sky, and so the Liir would do their part.

Shiilu (the joy of jumping into the air in a spray of water) had just discovered that her friend's thought was "I would rather be practicing my back-flips" when her console started flashing. She looked, and there was indeed a message for System Command. It was also from the _Solaris_! She opened the communiqué, and then read it carefully; rereading it twice to make sure she knew what it said. As an Avalon colonist, Shiilu (the joy of jumping into the air in a spray of water) knew both Liirian and Human fleetsong, and could order her thoughts to make sure a Human understood her, but sometimes messages were technical and some of the words or concepts were hard. Once she was certain of all the words and their context, she forwarded the message to the currently unmanned human comm. console, and then rose to the surface and poked her head above water.

_Lieutenant Riese!_ She called. Humans weren't telepathic, but they could somehow still hear what a Liir sang. They just couldn't respond in kind or fully grasp some of the underlying intent.

They also had no idea how loud their own thoughts could tend to shout. That was how Shiilu (the joy of jumping into the air in a spray of water) knew she had gotten his attention when she heard; _I wonder if she's received word from the _Solaris

Riese reached the edge of the platform and kneeled down so he was closer to eye level with the Liir, he said, "What is it, Shiilu?"

She replied, _I have received a message from the _Solaris_. They say that the anomaly is a jump point, and they provided the information received from a probe they sent through. The message has been sent to the human comm. station if you wish to see it._

Shiilu (the joy of jumping into the air in a spray of water) wasn't exactly sure what a jump point was, and she certainly hadn't understood all of the mathematical data attached to the message, but she picked up from Riese's mind that this was important. As the human looked over the message, her impression of its importance grew until she realized that this may be something of life altering proportions, such as when she learned that not all life was peaceful from a game of hide the thought with the elder Shonnol (the first taste of a new food that is good) back on Muur (homeworld).

Riese straightened from his bent position over the console. His mind was heavy with thought, in some areas so convoluted with trying to predict cause and effect that it was difficult to understand at all. To Shiilu (the joy of jumping into the air in a spray of water), it appeared as though he were trying to understand and consider concepts more suited to an elder. Riese was young, and only elders tended to consider thoughts that would affect whole planets, as the Human was doing now. He simply wasn't old enough or wise enough to have a hope of coming to a reasonable conclusion. Not all of his thoughts were good, either, and some even scared the liir below him, who were now all paying attention to the flurry of thoughts prevalent in his mind.

Turning back to the Liir, Riese said, "Shiilu, I'm going to send this to Admiral Remington- he needs to know. I want you to inform your elders of this. It could be nothing, but then again, it could be something. Something big." With that, he turned back to the station and began making his report.

Shiilu (the joy of jumping into the air in a spray of water), for her part, sang into the metaconcert, the interconnected song of all Liir in telepathic distance, a message for elder Bayna (patience in awaiting great things), saying that the human scout ship had found something that may or may not mean anything, and that he may want to come to system command soon. The song would be passed from Liir to Liir in a gossip chain until it reached the elder. Riese heard the message waft across his consciousness like a ghostly caress, and grunted a vague approval at the initiative to bring the elder here, where a decision could be more easily reached.

Just as Riese finished sending his findings to the Admiral, Shiilu (the joy of jumping into the air in a spray of water) felt a new presence swim into the command center. It was Allaay (fierce determination in contest), a one hundred year old Liir who was showing promise as a future elder, even this early in life. He swam up to the surface next to where the human stood and said, _Lieutenant Riese (human who improves himself through an open mind), I am here to relieve you. What has happened on your watch?_

Riese replied, "The scout ship_ Solaris_ has deviated from its course to check out a new jump point that showed up out of nowhere. I've just informed Admiral Remington, and he may have something for us shortly, so be on your toes- or whatever. Just stay alert."

_I understand what you mean, human,_ Allaay (fierce determination in contest) said, his amusement evident. _Very well, swim free for a time, Lieutenant Riese (human who improves himself through an open mind)._

"I'll be staying around the command center for a while, just in case the Admiral calls," Riese said. Then he walked away, his mind still very troubled, not to mention flustered at the implied compliment of his extended name. Unlike other Liir, Allaay (fierce determination in contest) insisted that Humans should expand upon their names like Liir did, or at least allow a Liir to express a suitably descriptive expansion. However, like all other Liir who became philosophical before age 400, most people humored him, but otherwise ignored his eccentricities.

**Edge of the Avalon System, near Unknown Jump Point**

**Scout ship TAS **_**Solaris**_

**July 20****th****, 2623 A.D.**

**1825 hrs**

Ensign Bryant looked at his comm station. He read the message, and then reread it just to be sure. He was about to read it a third time when the voice of Commander Montoya broke the relative silence of the bridge.

"You have something, Ensign Bryant?" Montoya asked.

"Yes, sir," Bryant replied. "Message from Command, sir. They want us to gather more information on the anomaly."

"Read the whole message, Ensign." Montoya ordered.

"Aye, Aye, sir. Message reads: 'From Jack Remington, Admiral, 15th Fleet, Avalon System Command, to Commander Richard Montoya, TAS _Solaris_. You are hereby authorized to undergo whatever operations necessary in order to determine the origin of the anomalous jump point, as well as stability, viability, and threat level. Utilize extreme caution, and take no unnecessary risks. Elements of 15th Fleet and Fleet of Shining Water have been dispatched to the coordinates you provided. Their ETA is four hours. Godspeed.' What does it mean, sir?"

"It means," replied Montoya, "that we're going to find out how stable this thing is while we wait for reinforcements. When they arrive, we're going to go through that jump point and find out for certain what's on the other side, and why it just showed up for no apparent reason."

Silence reigned on the bridge as everyone pondered the Commander's words. The implications were enormous, and the danger incredible. Still, the crew would follow Commander Montoya. He was a good ship's captain, and wouldn't put them into danger if the risk outweighed the gains. Everyone on the bridge of the _Solaris_ knew that Montoya was weighing the lives of his crew against not only the lives of everyone in the Avalon system, but also the very fate of a true Human/Liir Alliance. If Avalon failed, then it was unlikely that either species would be willing to try again for a very, very long time.

Montoya sighed. It had already been a long day, and it looked like it was just going to get worse. He'd have to be fully awake and rested if he wanted to make the right decisions.

"XO," he said, "you have the bridge. I'll be in my quarters. Inform me the moment our reinforcements show up on scanners. The Liir will probably arrive first, and I'll want to speak with them."

With that, Montoya got up and left the bridge, leaving it in the hands of his seasoned executive officer.

**Edge of the Avalon System, near Unknown Jump Point**

**Scout ship TAS **_**Solaris**_

**July 20****th****, 2623**

**2230 hrs**

Lieutenant Commander Delwyn Majors stood in front of the tactical screen at the back of the bridge, brooding. He had two Liir cruisers on the scopes, and they were heading in the direction of the _Solaris_. At least, whenever they were actually on the scopes, thanks to that damned stutter warp technology they used. They just appeared and disappeared at will, stuttering their way across the system, playing merry hell with every sensor that tried to lock on to them, be it lidar sensors or fire control systems. It was only thanks to the new advanced predictive software being installed all across the fleet that Humans could EVER tell where a Liir ship was going. It had made combat against them, limited as it was, an absolute disaster for both sides.

Lt. Cmdr. Majors did not like the Liir. He was also the newest member of the _Solaris'_ crew, and didn't understand why the Commander trusted the damned Fish so much. In fact he still had the marks from their first conversation on the subject. Back during the 200 Year War, there had been a brief period of time, just after contact was made with the Liir, when the two species had been enemies. It was horrible. Liir had no trouble targeting Human ships, but the particle beams and lasers of the time meant that they couldn't get through Human armor very well. Humans, on the other hand, could hardly hit the Liir, but when they did, the mass drivers would punch right through the thin armor and wreak havoc on the aquatic environment within. Both sides soon saw a potential stalemate with staggering losses, and forced their own people to the peace table. As neither side had targeted civilian populations yet, a shaky truce was soon reached.

Majors had lost an uncle to the Liir, and he had resented them ever since. Still, he was a professional Naval Officer, and he could follow orders. He had already informed the Commander of the Liir's approach, and was just waiting for the Old Man to take over the bridge. Majors wouldn't kill the Fish, but it didn't mean he had to like them, or deal with them.

Commander Montoya stepped onto the bridge, immediately saying, "as you were" as everyone not performing a major function came to attention. Then he faced Lt. Cmdr. Majors.

"How far out are they, Commander?" he asked.

"Hard to tell with Liir, sir," Majors replied, "but best guess puts them at five minutes."

"Very good, Commander. I have the bridge. Go get yourself some chow, and I'll call you before anything big happens."

"Aye, aye, sir," Majors said. He came to attention, saluted, and then left the bridge.

Montoya scowled as his XO departed. He knew Majors didn't like the Liir, but he'd be damned if he was going to let one officer's prejudices affect the outcome of this operation. He turned to the comm officer.

"Ensign Bryant, are the Liir in real-time radio range yet?" he asked.

"Barely, sir," Bryant replied. "They just came into range. At this distance, there might still be some lag."

"I'll chance it," Montoya said. "Put me in contact with the lead ship. When they respond, push the transmission to my console."

Montoya sat down in the command chair and focused his attention on the small audio/visual screen built into the right armrest. After a moment, it winked to life, showing the visage of a fairly ordinary-looking Liir. It looked very similar to a bottlenose dolphin, at least at first glance. On closer inspection, there were several differences. First and foremost were the strange tentacle-like growths on its snout, the tips of which were glowing fluorescent orange. His fins were also different, and there were more of them than a terrestrial dolphin would have. Then there were the tattoos. This particular Liir had its melon decorated in patterns of fluorescent orange and neon green. The "tattoos" were actually tiny bioluminescent microorganisms that the Liir allowed to grow on the layer of fur that grew all over their apparently sleek bodies.

There was another difference, too. Montoya knew that he was not looking at an ordinary Liir. This was one of what they called the "Black Swimmers". He was a member of the Liirian Navy. As such, he was considered dead by Liir standards. Before his training, he would have had a funeral, his family and friends singing their mourning songs as they swam around him, paying their respects to the dead. Dead Liir could do things no other member of their race would do. Black Swimmers could kill. They could maim. They could wipe out entire worlds with their cutting beams, or turn the entire population into fanatically loyal Liir supporters with their Assimilation Plague. A Liir who swims "the Black Sea" would not initiate hostile actions, but once they saw a people as "Suul'ka", they would not stop until something dramatic changed. That was something to always be kept in mind.

"Greetings," Montoya said. "This is Commander Montoya of the TAS _Solaris_. I take it you're the reinforcements that we're waiting for?"

The Liir spoke in the language they called "Fleetsong", a language of clicks, whistles and other sounds that only further reinforced the image of dolphins and whales. This language was in turn translated into English.

"Indeed we are," he said, "I am Siivall, elder of the Liirian vessel Shining Hunter. How may we aid you in your task?"

"We need to assess what threat may lie on the other side of this jump point. To do that, we need to actually go to the system and make an initial intel survey. Still, we can't leave this area unguarded, so…" Montoya drifted off, knowing that the Liir would get the idea.

"We hear and agree," Siivall responded, "we shall guard this area until your return."

"One other thing," Montoya said. "There should be some Human ships arriving soon, their orders will probably be to assist you in your task."

"We will await their arrival. May the currents you travel be swift and safe." The transmission ended. Montoya looked around the bridge.

"Alright, now that that's taken care of, we can get under way. I don't know what we'll find out there, but I know that with this crew, we can handle it." He turned to Navigation. "Lieutenant Delawter, line us up with the Node, spin up the engines, and make the jump when ready. Sensors, I want all arrays on full. Record all information when we make the jump, and report any anomalies immediately. Then do a full diagnostic while we're in Node Space. I want the scanners at peak efficiency when we reach the system."

Orders given, Commander Montoya sat back and watched his bridge staff go about there tasks with their typical efficiency. Human ships were incredibly efficient now, too. Thanks to the 200 Year War, breakthroughs in antimatter technologies and Node Pathing engines had been made almost eighteen years ago, and was now a mainstay in the TA Fleets. That meant that even though the star system on the other side of this node was an estimated two hundred and fifty light years away, it would only take roughly eight hours to get there.

Delawter made his calculations and the ship moved until it was facing the invisible lines of gravitational forces that connected the Avalon system with… someplace else. Then it began to creep forward slowly.

"All engines report green," he said, "Node reads stable. Making the jump in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Jump!"

Outside, theoretical energies coalesced into a shimmering, gel-like bubble around the Human ship, and in a burst of speed, propelled the tiny vessel into the depths of that not-reality dubbed "Node Space".

Aboard the bridge, however, it was business as usual.

"Node activation successful, sir. Engines fully functional."

"Sensors detected no anomalies. Just another node, sir. Beginning full system diagnostic. Estimated time to completion… one hour, thirty minutes."

"Very good, people," Montoya said. "Now we wait."

**Node Space, en route to Unknown Star System**

**Scout Ship TAS **_**Solaris**_

**July 21****st****, 2623**

**0600 hrs**

"Sir… the computer's reporting that we'll be arriving at our destination in five minutes." Navigation reported with some confusion. The shift had changed, and Navigation was currently manned by the less experienced but equally capable Junior Lieutenant Michaels. Montoya looked up from his command chair, where he was going over supply manifests.

"We're a half hour early. What happened?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, sir," Michaels replied. "The computer is just reporting that we'll be there very soon."

Montoya considered this for a moment. Ships didn't just get someplace early. Speeds in Node Space weren't defined by how hard you pushed the throttle, but rather by how well your ship's engines refined its path along the node. They weren't that early, but it was enough to be cause for concern. The probes distance estimates could have been wrong, but they had sent three through, and all of them agreed on the distance.

"Alright," he said, "All hands prepare to reenter normal space. Ops, sound Battle Stations. Sensors, as soon as we're clear of the node I want a full system scan. I know it'll broadcast our position, but if we're getting there this early it means we're being pulled. I need to know exactly what's out there as soon as humanly possible."

A host of "aye, aye, sir's" answered him, and while Commander Montoya was outwardly the very incarnation of calm composure, inside he wracked his mind as he tried to prepare for the unknown. What in the universe could pull something through Node Space, and how would it know the difference between a probe and a manned ship?

The ship emerged from Node Space a few minutes later, the protective bubble of energy collapsing as it left the dangerous realm behind. Then the tiny ship started spewing forth a comparatively large amount of radio, radar, lidar, tachyon and gamma emissions in an attempt to see anything and everything in the system at the same time.

Inside, at full battle stations, the crew was working as hard as they could to figure out what sort of threats they were facing.

"Sensors, what do you have for me?" Commander Montoya demanded.

"Sir, we're incredibly close to the system primary, just over one A.U., but something's not right. Readings are consistent with a neutron star, which is in itself strange, but it's also emitting zero radio pulsars. Sir, if that's a neutron star, then we should have been fried in our seats the moment we left Node Space."

"Then I guess we thank God for saving our curious, worthless hides once again," Montoya said with a chuckle, breaking the tension. "Anything else?"

"Yes, sir. I'm reading a large dead zone at .5 A.U.'s relative to the star, but it's also strange. I'm actually getting a silhouette off of it, like it's not actively jamming us, just… absorbing everything we hit it with." Montoya considered that.

"Hmm. Dimensions?"

"It's BIG, sir. Object appears to be ring-shaped, the hollow inside is approximately two kilometers in diameter. I can't get a good enough reading to know the rest of the dimensions until we're in visual range, sir."

"Very well," Montoya said, "charge defense network, weapons on standby. Nav, take us into visual range."

A few minutes later, the TAS _Solaris_ crossed into visual range, and the Humans got their first glance at something none of them could imagine.

Commander Montoya stood up and staggered forward until he was standing between the Navigation and Weapons consoles at the front of the bridge. For a time he simply stood there, staring. Then he uttered three words that was on the mind of every Human on the bridge, as they stared out at the artifact.

"Oh my God…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes: **Once again, I'm taking several liberties with this chapter, and I can only hope that it enriches the story without deviating too far from canon. If I do, by all means, someone let me know.

One more thing, about Liir conversations. Liir speech in _italics_ indicates direct telepathy, which may be spotty when talking to a non-Liir. Liir speech in quotes ("") indicates Fleetsong, and will typically be more complete.

**The Avalon Incident**

**Chapter 3**

**Star System V931**

**Defense Station Threshold**

**August 16****th****, 2623**

**0900 hrs**

Admiral Jack Remington stood in the observation room of the Threshold Defense Station. It was built into the station so that anyone passing through would remember the reason why they were there. Not that anyone would. Everyone in the system found every excuse they could to catch a glimpse of the Artifact. Remington stood looking out at it now, in fact. Threshold stood off to one side of the opening in the ring, roughly five thousand kilometers distant. The Artifact was matte black all over, and difficult to see even when it filled the windows. Not even the dim light of the nearby neutron star reflected off of it. Everything was absorbed, be it visible light, microwaves, gamma radiation, tachyons, or radio. Especially radio waves. Everything else had an average reflection rate of between .2 and .5 percent, but radio signals were almost completely undetectable. The Artifact was big, too. The diameter of the opening in the ring was just over two kilometers; the distance from the outer track to the inner track was approximately eight hundred meters; and from front to rear was nine hundred and thirty three meters. Next to that magnitude, not even Admiral Remington's 1,080 meter flagship, the dreadnaught _Sword of the Stars_, looked like anything more that a child's toy.

Both the Humans and the Liir had been studying it since the _Solaris_ made the discovery last month. The Humans had arrived first, and had found an airlock that they could easily adapt their ships to, and had discovered that the environmental control systems were still operational, and adjusted the temperature, atmosphere, pressure, and gravity to match the specifications given to it by the ship's environmental computer. By the time the Liir had arrived the next week, the Terran Alliance scientists had figured out what was the environmental computer, and had translated enough to get it to work, but had otherwise made little progress.

It was understandable, really. They had been going slow, taking every precaution possible, not taking anything apart until they were sure it didn't perform some vital function. They were also trying to figure out why everything was still functional and operational, despite the lack of apparent power sources. When the Liir arrived, however, the research took off. Their ability to create a three-dimensional diagram of an object without even cracking the case was quickly making their Human counterparts green with envy. Still, the Humans did their part. While the Liir had an excellent grasp of Quantum physics and the underlying concepts, not to mention their knowledge of how to manipulate energy fields, the Humans had a much greater understanding of Newtonian physics and structural engineering. With the two groups working in concert, they had quickly discovered what most the systems were, what they did, and how to operate them.

Still, two systems eluded them. Both were present throughout the Artifact's structure, and both appeared to play a vital role in the construct's overall operation. They had complete 3D diagrams, complete maps of the electrical circuits, and in the case of one, complete maps of the quantum circuits, which had confused the Human scientists at first. Even with all of this, though, they couldn't quite agree on what either system did. The larger of the two systems was found closer to the outer surface of the structure, and in some areas actually made up part of the hull. The Humans said it was definitely a capacitor system of some sort, designed to store energy for later use, even though they were empty at the moment. The Liir, however, insisted that it was closer to the quantum-based Point Absorber system found on some Liirian warships, designed to absorb certain types of energy from external sources and transfer it to capacitors for later use. They couldn't test it with scale-models, either, since they weren't sure what material made up the hull, and certainly couldn't replicate it.

The other system… well, all anyone could really figure out was that it somehow accessed subspace. Some of the components were similar enough to Node Drives to figure that out, but there were key components missing. The system was found on the inner track of the ring, so it was speculated that whatever it did was actually projected into space, rather than being confined to the ring itself. Its true purpose, however, would remain a mystery until they turned it on. That led to another problem. The two unknown systems were so hopelessly interconnected that turning on one of them would invariably turn on the other one.

A door slid open behind him, and voices started filing in. Judging by the smell of ozone that accompanied them into the observation room, there were a few of the Liir scientists in their landsuits coming in as well. The unfortunate creatures had practically been living in the things for almost a month now. The artificial gravity inside the Artifact had been turned off to allow the Liir to move around freely and conserve power, but they still needed the landsuits, since the passageways weren't flooded with water. Admiral Remington waited until they were all inside, and had quieted down a bit. They were scientists, so they were all comparing notes, and figuring out where to begin the briefing.

When he felt they were ready to begin, the Admiral turned around and said, "What do you have for me?" One of the scientists stepped forward.

"Well, sir," he said, "we think we may finally have an idea of how old the Artifact is." Admiral Remington raised an eyebrow at that. All other reports thus far had come back inconclusive.

"We finally took the Liir's advice and took a quantum scan of key systems, and then used one of their equations for calculating entropic decay. It worked. According to the scan, the Artifact is slightly more than… two million years old." Murmurs immediately sprung up around the room.

If the Artifact was indeed two million years old, that would make it the oldest thing yet discovered. When each of the four great races first started exploring space, they each found ancient machines orbiting old star systems and resource-rich planets. Pieces of derelict warships larger than anything yet built provided particular problems, as their technologies were always incredibly advanced. The oldest known derelict was actually an Asteroid Monitor, a dreadnaught-sized ore processing station built into an asteroid, orbiting a planet around Barnard's Star. That particular one was 3500 years old. If this ring was two million years old, that meant that dozens, perhaps hundreds, of ancient peoples had built empires that subsequently collapsed while it had been lost. This was the archeological find of the millennium.

Admiral Remington, however, was not an archeologist.

"While I must admit that this is a very interesting find," he said, "it is not the most important thing I'm looking to hear today. What else have you learned?"

The lead Human engineer, Dr. Karl Abramowitz, spoke up.

"We've learned why the gravity in this area of space is no more than that of a much younger star system. It turns out that the material the outer hull of the Artifact is made out of actually absorbs gravitons as well as everything else. The ambient gravity put off by the neutron star is being absorbed constantly, turned directly into useable power in a way we don't understand, then powering the operational systems. Leftover energy, rather than being stored in those weird capacitors," there was a noticeable telepathic snort of derision at that comment, "is transformed into nearly undetectable low-level electromagnetic energy, again using unknown methods, and bled off into space."

Admiral Remington thought on that for a moment.

At length, he said, "it does explain why we aren't all being crushed to jelly this close to a neutron star, but there are an awful lot of unknowns in your statement. Care to explain?"

Abramowitz sighed.

"Admiral," he said, "it's like the difference between Quantum physics and Newtonian physics. You can trace it up or down, but at some point, it stops being one and starts being the other. We're just not sure where. It's the same with this system. We trace the gravitons being absorbed, but at some point midway between the time they're absorbed into the hull and the time they're used to power a system, they stop being gravitational energy and start being electrical energy. That's all we know at this point. This is a level of quantum engineering that not even the Liir have managed yet."

"I'll accept that," Remington said. "Is there anything else?" The head of the Liirian Steelsingers, calling himself Shaaylii, floated forward.

_Elder,_ he said, _we believe we have gathered enough information to be able to speculate on the function of the Artifact. We are, however, of split minds._

"How so?" Remington asked.

Shaaylii replied, _There are those among us who feel that the Artifact is a transport device, much like your Node Drives, only far more powerful. Such a device would be able to propel a vessel far beyond normal means. It may perhaps even allow one to reach another galaxy in the time it takes us to travel between stars. _

_Then there are those of us who see nothing but death. They believe that the Artifact is perhaps only one of many of its kind, whose sole design and purpose is to link together and destroy all life in the galaxy. They believe that by accessing subspace, the destruction caused by this station could reach far beyond where normal physics would allow. This is, however, a small number of us, as the evidence seems to point in favor of the transportation device._

"I see," Remington said. "There is something to be said for following caution, but both of our races are known to have an insatiable streak of curiosity. Speak to the Liirian Elder on this. If he agrees with my assessment, then begin the startup procedures, but take every precaution possible. When you are ready to begin the final stage, then report back here. I'll have the Elder on telepresence, and we'll make the final decision at that time.

"Very well, Admiral," Dr. Abramowitz said. "We shall return when we are ready."

The scientists then filed out, once again leaving Admiral Jack Remington alone with his thoughts.

**Star System V931**

**Defense Station Threshold**

**August 16****th****, 2623**

**2100 hrs**

Jack Remington again stood on the Observation Deck. The science teams had reported that they were almost ready to complete the startup process and activate the Artifact. They were just waiting for final confirmation. Next to the admiral was a mobile holoplate positioned on the floor. Above it floated the visage of The Black, the wisest Liir Black Swimmer, and thereby the supreme commander of the Liirian Navy. Contrary to standard Liirian practice, the Black was not necessarily the oldest among the stars, but rather simply the most tactically and logistically adept and experienced, so he was given the honorific of elder. Oddly enough, he looked like a black bottlenose dolphin, with navy blue tattoo colonies all over his body, proclaiming in the wavelike Liirian script that this was the leader of the Black Swimmers. Apparently this was not so much a vain proclamation as it was a warning: any Liir who come within telepathic distance of the Black may run the risk of experiencing the unthinkable pain and guilt that went with the position. Not only had the Black seen his share of front line combat against both the Tarkas and the Hivers, but he also had the weight of every order he had given as the Black. His burden was the death of every Liir and every sentient killed by Liir since he had taken command. He alone could bear the complete burden.

The hatch opened behind the two military leaders, and both Remington and the Black turned to face Dr. Abramowitz as he walked into the room.

"We have completed the primary startup process, and are holding steady," he said. "The next command will complete the initiation sequence. A word of warning, however. We are dealing with vast amounts of energy, and our understanding of some of the physics involved is still very rudimentary. Therefore, I strongly recommend that once we start the process, we don't try to stop it. It may work, or the build-up may have no way to store the energy or bleed it off into space. It could, in worst-case scenarios, explode with enough force to destroy the star system."

"Then I guess we'll just have to make sure we really want to turn it on," Remington said. He turned to the holographic image next to him.

"Elder? Your thoughts on this?" he asked.

"I have one question before my judgment can be clear," the Black said. "Has there been any indication that the device is meant for destructive means? Either by you or by any one of your singers, Human or Liir?"

"No, Elder," Abramowitz said. "While some remain pessimistic, there is no evidence at all to suggest that the Artifact is a weapon of any kind."

"Then my answer is clear," the Black said, "let us activate the Artifact, and hear what song it has to sing."

Remington laughed and said, "I agree. Let's turn the sucker on and see what happens."

"Right away, sirs," Abramowitz said, smiling. He took a small transceiver out of a pocket on his lab coat and spoke into it, saying, "This is Dr. Abramowitz to Artifact Control. Initialize final startup sequence. Repeat, we have a go!"

**Star System V931**

**Near Derelict Structure dubbed 'The Artifact'**

**August 16****th****, 2623**

**2110 hrs**

In the visible light spectrum, space around the Artifact appeared unchanged. The neutron star still shone dim silver, the red light of a nebula several thousand light years distant still illuminated that region of the stars, and light still reflected off of various ships on their patrols around the system. In the low-frequency band, however, things began to happen as soon as the last switch was thrown. The Ring, forged by alien hands never seen by any sentient alive today, and conceived by alien minds whose thoughts are so different and so advanced that they bend the very stars to their whim, began to draw more energy from the environment than the scientists aboard ever believed possible. All ambient radio emissions and all forms of radiation were absorbed by the Ring, and for a time communication between the sentient race's vessels became impossible. All energy, no matter the form, was absorbed until there was enough power to send out a signal to the true power source.

In the visible band, nothing could be seen for the moment. Everyone looking at a scanner, however, saw the beam that suddenly connected the Artifact to the neutron star. Then everything happened all at once. The star flared white-hot, and the Artifact stopped drawing energy from its environment, even as radio emissions spiked to near-danger levels, then solidified into a single collimated beam of white energy connected to the Ring. Then, when enough radio energy had been absorbed from the star, the interior section of the ring went black. The light from the star was not visible behind it, nor was the star-spangled black of space. It was simply a void, blacker than even the structure that produced it.

When the shock of the moment had passed, every sentient mind in the system began speaking at once. Scientists, Human and Liir both, began speculating on what it was and what it could be for; and more importantly, what were the physics behind it. Military minds began to attempt to assess threat levels, though these thoughts were in vain without more information. All others, the technicians, the workers, and the unknown faces who were the true backbone of any operation, simply began to speculate on the possibilities.

Through it all, one sentient remained an island of calm. He alone among all beings in the star system provisionally named V931, knew what course of action to take next.

_The probe is prepared?_ the Black asked.

After a moment, his aid managed to shake himself from the sight outside.

_Y-yes, Elder. The probe has been prepared to your specifications. The Human Node scanners were installed, and the flight path has been programmed. It is as ready as it can be under these circumstances._

The Black then asked,_ You are afraid?_

_Yes, Elder. I am, _the aid replied. _Nothing of this magnitude has ever happened in our species' history. How can we deal with it, Elder? How?_

_We do what must be done,_ the Black replied. _Our people are safe for the moment, but my time in the Black Sea has taught me that no peace lasts forever. There are always enemies, and there are always potential allies, as well. We must seek out both, so that our families may live in freedom. Besides, _he added playfully, _aren't you the least bit curious, as well?_

The aid let out a small squeak in the Liir equivalent of a nervous chuckle.

_I suppose I am, Elder. At least a little, _he said.

_Then let us satisfy our mutual curiosity, _the Black said. _Send the probe! I will alert Admiral Remington, the Human Elder, that we have begun._

Outside, the Liirian vessel launched a small, boxy shape. In some ways it looked like a ship, while in other ways it resembled a missile. It was small, fast, and maneuverable, and held no crew, but its engines were larger and more powerful than a missile, and its computer brain was more advanced than the simpler recognize-and-track programs of missiles. It approached the Artifact, lined up dead-center with the middle of the void produced by the Ring. It passed through the void like a specter through a curtain, but did not appear on the other side. For all intents and purposes, it was gone. Now there was only the waiting…

**Star System V931**

**Liirian Command Dreadnaught **_**Stars of Muur**_

**August 17****th****, 2623 (Human Calendar)**

**2****nd**** Hour of Light**

The Black floated in front of his communication panel, waiting for Admiral Remington to answer. The probe had been gone all night, and had only just returned a short time ago. The data core had been removed, and an initial analysis had been performed, but nothing more. The Black respected the Human allies, especially the ones that he now swam with. Those involved with the terraforming of Avalon seemed to care for life as much as any Liir, though by their very nature they approached things very differently. Even some of the Black Swimmers were disgusted and repulsed by the paranoia with which the Humans approached everything. To the Apes, everything was a threat; everything was a monster lurking in the deep currents, waiting to charge out and tear you apart. It was quite sad, actually, and the Humans had the heartfelt pity of many Liir in the Black Sea. Still, they respected life, and were willing to sacrifice themselves so others didn't have to. The Black Swimmers understood this intimately, and from this understanding, an alliance was born.

Admiral Remington finally answered, and his alien silhouette filled the Black's screen. The Land Dweller was old by his people's standards, especially their military. He had silver hair and age-ravaged features, the weight of decades of command taking its toll. He was still strong and his features still sharp, but his eyes had sunken into his skull, and tired bags hung under his eyes. Still, it made the Black respect him all the more. The Black himself was only 148, and just over four meters long. Although he had commanded Black Swimmers in one capacity or another for three decades himself, he still felt a strong urge to show deference to this Human, who truly was an Elder among his people.

"Elder," Jack Remington said by way of greeting, "what can I do for you this morning?"

"The probe has returned, and we are examining it now," the Black replied. "It appears that the Artifact is a transport device after all. I must find the ones who believed the Ring would destroy us, and ask them what they chewed on while they worked. It must have been very good, to give them such unfounded suppositions!"

Remington laughed.

"That it must have!" he said. "Anyway, what did the probe discover, and can some of my people review it as well?"

The Black replied, "Indeed they may. Your people have an interesting way of viewing things, and the Chorus would be enriched by their input. As for what the probe heard, it will take some time to listen to its song fully, but we have already learned some things.

"The Artifact took our probe far. It emerged in a system identical to this one, and the neutron star of that system also powered an identical Ring. Our machine listened to the currents of the Black Sea, and turned its eyes to the sky, and learned that its destination is well within Human territory, near a star listed in your charts as Sigma 957. Some of the readings seem off, however, and the scientists are even now singing out answers to new questions."

"I see," Remington said. "Still, if this is in Terran Alliance boundaries, I see no reason why we can't go ahead with a manned mission. That depends on you, though. We don't know if our Node drives will work 'as is', and if not, the results could be catastrophic. Therefore, if we want to go ahead and explore the other side quickly, it would have to be a Liir ship. It won't be too long before we figure out if we need to modify our drives to get through, but the offer is there."

"I hear your concerns," the Black said. "We would be honored to be the first to swim this current. I will find a volunteer and send them through. It should be done before the time reaches high sun."

"Good luck, Elder," Remington said, and then signed off.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Here's chapter 4. Many thanks go to my brother at this point, who's been beta reading this for me, and ruthlessly ferreting out plot holes, grammatical errors, and above all, bad physics.

**The Avalon Incident**

**Chapter 4**

**Star System V931**

**Liirian Scout Ship **_**Red Dawn, **_**Near Derelict Structure dubbed 'The Artifact'**

**August 17****th****, 2623 (Human Calendar)**

**4****th**** Hour of Light**

Shonobu (he whose song is pure) was the newest commander of the scout ship _Red Dawn._ The small ship was old, especially by the current standards, when ships were being outdated almost as soon as they were built. The _Red Dawn_ was one of the first ships to be built using antimatter to power the ship without being refitted. It had, however, just gotten out of the new space docks at Avalon, completing the tenth minor upgrade in the ship's long life. That meant that the scanners were up to date, but since the ship was a mere scout, the cost to refit the ship with the new quark resonating armor had been deemed too high. Still, it was an improvement, and the new Human designed scanners were working well, and the resolution on small in-system debris was much better, while the Liirian half, which detected gravity wells and power reactors quite well, was still performing perfectly.

Shonobu (he whose song is pure) didn't understand why the cost to upgrade the ship's armor was too high. After all, even the Humans were starting to say that the _Red Dawn_ was problematic, or as they called it, cursed. For a scout, the ship had been through a surprising number of commanders. Shonobu (he whose song is pure) was the thirteenth in its fifty years of service. The tiny scout seemed to have a knack for going into hostile situations, taking heavy damage, taking the commander on as a casualty, and then somehow limping home to tell the tale. The main section of the ship may have been as heavily armed and armored as a typical destroyer, but the command section was rigged for scanning, not combat.

No one could explain why the _Red Dawn _saw so much combat, at least, no one until now. Now Shonobu (he whose song is pure) knew. It was most likely because every former commander was just like himself, curious and courageous. The Black himself was calling for a volunteer to go through the Artifact's portal, and before he knew what he was doing, Shonobu (he whose song is pure) had volunteered the _Red Dawn_. He had cursed himself even as the Black sang his praises, and he cursed himself now, as his ship was ready to take that final, possibly fatal, swim. The Black was on the comm, wishing them luck, and providing last minute instructions.

"You are an excellent diplomat, Shonobu," the Black said, "and I feel confident in allowing you to make contact, should another ship be there. Probes can only hear so much, and it takes the Song of a sentient to hear it all. Take your time, and listen well to the Universe."

"I understand, Elder," Shonobu (he whose song is pure) said. "We shall return when we have heard all there is to hear."

"Swim safe," the Black said, then closed the connection.

_Ops, are we prepared?_ Shonobu (he whose song is pure) asked.

_We are, Elder, _Ops replied.

_Then move us into the Ring, and let the current take us where it may._

The _Red Dawn_ made its way into the portal, the Liir on board all linking their minds together, taking comfort in each other's presence in the face of the unknown.

As soon as the first antennae on the bow touched that infinite blackness, it seemed to reach out and greedily suck in the rest of the ship. At first there was nothing, and then each Liir felt his mind disconnect from the minds of the other members of the crew. For the first time, a Liir truly understood the Human concept of 'alone', and it frightened and confused them. To be utterly alone, without contact with another mind for the first time in their lives, was so frightening that they almost missed the other sensations. The distinct and acute sensation of falling without end, and the searing cold that seemed to reach into their very bones. There was also the pressure, the feeling as though one had swam too deep, and now could not surface for air, and would be crushed long before they could return to the light. For the Liir aboard the _Red Dawn_, it was like Drowning Day all over again. The horrible, frightening experience of drowning, dying all the while knowing that you would still be alive at the end of it, and would have to face a living death.

Then, all at once, it was over. The pressure released, light again filled the interior, and warmth seeped back into their bodies. Then, tentatively, almost as though they were afraid of what they would find, each Liir began to reach out and touch the minds of their comrades again. Then, after the first touches, each reached out quickly and aggressively, embracing the return of the metaconcert, and for a few minutes, the crew of the _Red Dawn _did nothing but sing joy, happiness and life into the ship and space around it.

After a few minutes, Shonobu (he whose song is pure) again took charge of the situation, as he had been trained to do. Still, he purposely called everyone he spoke to by name, reveling in the fact that none of his crew had been harmed.

_Ailo (great redemption through service), what damage does the ship have? _he asked.

_None that we can determine, Honored Elder (he who will see us home),_ Ailo (great redemption through service) replied, using a personalized honorific describing his feelings towards his commander at that moment. It was very high praise. He continued, _There are, however, some discrepancies in the Stutter drives. The engines are working fine, but the quantum coordinates appear to have changed more than they should have. It could be that we are no longer in our reality, though I do not like to bear such news._

Shonobu (he whose song is pure) shuddered at the thought, and then pressed on. He said, _Shiishii (the note which is always clear), what can the sensors see?_

_Elder (he who leads us with wisdom), the ship's song has revealed a strange vessel moving towards us. We do not recognize it, and the readings are inconclusive. Its armor appears to be some kind of biological structure beyond our knowledge, and the one weapon we can detect is unrecognizable, _Shiishii (the note which is always clear) said.

Shonobu (he whose song is pure) considered for a moment, and then said, _Move us towards it, and broadcast our language, as well as a greeting. Let us welcome them to the Black Sea._

**Unknown Star System, near Sigma 957**

**Liirian Scout Ship **_**Red Dawn**_**, near Alternate Artifact**

**Date Unknown (Timestamp Error 404)**

**4****th**** Hour of Light**

The _Red Dawn _moved toward the strange ship, the gravity of the nearby neutron star and the new quantum equations slowing down the Stutter drive powering the small vessel. On the cameras, the alien ship was a strange, glittering black, like an insect's carapace, and it was covered in strange spike-like protrusions, especially near the drive section. The drives had several of these protrusions above and below the main body of the ship, and it looked as though some giant hand were eternally chasing the small ship. Small it was, too, being only slightly larger than the destroyer-class _Red Dawn._

The two ships moved steadily closer to each other, the Liir waiting for a response to their message. When the ships were a mere ten thousand kilometers apart, the answer came through, in Liirian Fleetsong. It consisted of a single question: "What do you want?"

_Elder? How should we respond? _Ailo (great redemption through service) asked.

_I shall respond directly. Let me sing to them, _Shonobu (he whose song is pure) said. When a channel was opened, he said, "We listen to the Song of Life, and want for nothing more. This region is new to us, and so we listen for new notes."

The unknown ship then came within a few thousand meters, and passed into Shonobu's (he whose song is pure) telepathic range. Strangely, he could see only one 'light' aboard the vessel. Curious as to the lack of life forms aboard, the Liir ship commander reached out and brushed the consciousness of the sole occupant of the alien ship. It recoiled at his touch, paused as if stunned, and then shrieked hideously into his mind. He withdrew sharply, his mind echoing with the one command that now echoed through the alien's mind: Kill.

Leaping into action, Shonobu (he whose song is pure) ordered, _Prepare for combat! The alien is going to attack!_

Following the order of their commander, every Liir on the _Red Dawn _linked their thoughts together, becoming not really a distinct crew, nor truly a gestalt mind, but something in between. Together they sang their Battlesong. Each individual was still themselves, but their minds heard and felt everything that their comrades did, as well, transforming the crew of the scout ship into a single, cohesive fighting unit. Orders were issued and followed even before they were fully comprehended on a conscious level, and there was no misunderstanding or garbling of those orders. No one was to open fire until the alien did, just in case the thought was misunderstood. It was an alien mind, after all.

Unfortunately, Shonobu (he whose song is pure) had heard correct. The alien vessel opened fire, and almost immediately there was a hull breach, and two minds left the metachoir. The _Red Dawn_'s crew screamed in rage and grief, and as soon as the black ship passed them, it inexplicably stalled again as soon as it closed within a few hundred meters. Even as it hovered there in stunned silence, phased light energy lanced out from the Liirian vessel's dorsal cannons and struck its attacker. Then the enemy began moving again.

No single beam did very much damage, but even in their rage, the Liir were methodical, even surgical. They quickly discovered that their pulse phasers and larger phasers would do significant damage to the spines on the drive section, while they did very little noticeable damage to the rest of the hull. So for several minutes they worked on cutting each of them off methodically, noting the decrease in acceleration and maneuverability with the loss of each one. After that, with most of the enemy's maneuvering capabilities disabled, it was a simple matter of dumping enough power into the hull to destroy it. This was made easier by the strange ship's tendency to simply freeze in space, halting all actions, when the _Red Dawn _made a close pass

Eventually, even the alien's advanced bio armor succumbed, and the black ship died, screaming its pain into the void. The Liir had won, but at a price. For every four shots that the _Red Dawn _managed to pump into it, the enemy managed to score a single hit with the strange pulse weapon it carried, and each hit was devastating. Of the twenty three souls aboard, eight were now either dead or critically wounded, most of the others were wounded in some way, and the ship hadn't fared any better. There were hull breaches on almost every deck, two of the pulse phasers had been destroyed, and a drive fin had been severed by a lucky hit.

As the Battlesong dissipated and the crew returned to their own minds, Shonobu (he whose song is pure) listened to the damage report, and then sighed.

Being the strongest mind aboard, he reached out to every member of his crew and sang, _This mission is over. We shall return through the Ring and summon help for our wounded, and allow those better suited to combat to come through and secure this place. We have seen what must be seen, and the cost has been high. We shall now let others swim before us, and benefit from the knowledge we have gathered._

Returning to himself, Shonobu (he whose song is pure) began issuing orders to the bridge crew.

_Shiishii (the note which is always clear), is the Ring still activated? _He asked.

Shiishii (the note which is always clear) replied, _Yes, Elder, it is, though I cannot say how or why. The readings on this side are identical to the one back where we came from._

Shonobu (he whose song is pure) said, _Good. Right now the hows and whys don't matter. Navigation, take us back through at best speed._

With that, the _Red Dawn_ limped its way back to the Artifact, and the dark doorway it produced. The transition was not nearly as bad this time. There was only the acute sense of falling, a vague pressure, and the ever terrifying separation from the metaconcert.

When the experience finished, and the disorientation faded, the crew of the scout ship found itself facing no less than twelve cruisers of both Human and Liirian design. Comm channels opened, and life began to get interesting once again…

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**September 18****th****, 2260**

**0750 hrs**

Commander Susan Ivanova was a practical, down-to-earth person, but she was also Russian. That meant that while she was being practical and down-to-earth, she was pointing out everything that could and probably would go wrong with any given situation. It also meant that she was good at getting information, because she liked to be informed. That included being brought up to date on the latest news between when she left the Officer's Mess and when she arrived in CnC. Today it was Lieutenant Corwin's misfortune to have to bring her all the bad news of the past ten hours.

"…And the reports on water consumption for the last week will be on your desk by 1600 today," he was saying. "Aside from that, there have been some unusual occurrences. Ambassador Kosh's ship just started… moving… about a half hour ago; there have been several reports of abnormally high energy spikes from a star near Sigma 957, and you said to let you know if anything came out of that area. Ambassador G'kar has been asking for a meeting with you again, and-"

"What the hell?" Ivanova cut the junior officer off in mid sentence as stumbled over something. She looked down to see what it was, and Corwin followed suit, the exact same look of annoyed confusion on their faces.

There, near the Commander's right foot, was a fish. It flopped violently every few seconds, but otherwise didn't do much. It was unremarkable, almost completely gray, and had no distinguishing markings.

"Where did this come from?" Ivanova asked.

"I have no idea, ma'am," Corwin replied, equally confounded. It certainly hadn't been there when he went to meet her in the Mess Hall.

Ivanova sighed. "Great. What else can go wrong?" she asked.

"Well, there is also a problem with the forward docking bay."

Another sigh. "Alright. Look, just tell everyone to stay away from the Vorlon ship (as if that wasn't common sense already); alert Captain Sheridan about the rumors near Sigma 957; tell G'kar that I don't have time to meet with him today, and get a maintenance crew working on the forward docking bay. That's your highest priority." She started walking again.

"And somebody find out where that fish came from!"

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**September 18****th****, 2260**

**0810 hrs**

"Thank you, that'll be all," said Captain John Sheridan to the aid that just brought him the report.

The aid left, and Sheridan tapped his link. From the tiny speaker on the device came the voice of Susan Ivanova.

"CnC online," she said.

"Ivanova, its Sheridan. Grab Marcus and meet me in my office in twenty minutes."

"Yes, sir, but Marcus may be difficult to find," Ivanova replied.

"That's why I gave you twenty minutes. If you can get here sooner, so much the better. Sheridan out."

Fifteen minutes later, Ivanova and the ever-scruffy looking Ranger walked into the Station Commander's office. Sheridan stood up and walked over to them, carrying the report in question.

"I assume you both know about the rumors we've been hearing about? The ones about energy spikes near Sigma 957," he said.

"You mean the rumors about massive energy readings near the place where we contacted some of the First Ones?" Marcus said. "The rumors that have every alien race avoiding that area of space like the Drazi plague? Those rumors? Let me think… nope, never heard of them." The Ranger completely ignored the scowl that Sheridan shot his way, and pretended to ignore the barely contained laughter that Ivanova tried to hide by turning her head away.

Turning to his second in command, Sheridan said, "Ivanova, I want you and Marcus to take the White Star and investigate these rumors. If it's the Shadows, we need to know, and if it's other First Ones, you two have the most experience dealing with them, and we could use all the allies we can get. Especially First Ones. Any questions?"

Marcus shook his head slightly, and Ivanova said, "No sir, we'll get moving right away."

"Good," Sheridan said, "but be careful. We have no real idea what's out there, and what we don't know could kill us right now."

**Minbari Prototype vessel **_**White Star**_

**Hyperspace, near Babylon 5**

**September 18****th****, 2260**

**1000 hrs**

"So, what do you think we'll find out there," Marcus asked, walking from behind the weapons station to stand beside Commander Ivanova.

"I have no idea," the Commander said, "if I did, I would have simply told John, 'hey, this is what we'll find out there,' and then we wouldn't be here, now would we?"

After a moment Marcus managed to close his mouth. Then he happily retorted, "I see your point. Still, it is fun to speculate, though, isn't it? Who knows, maybe we'll find more First Ones for you to insult; or maybe we'll find a Centauri ship who's captain got such a big ego that his head finally exploded and made the whole system go nova, or maybe…"

Susan Ivanova tuned out her annoying companion, cursed the name of John Sheridan for always sending this particular Ranger with her, and then tried to simply watch the patterns of black and red outside, thinking about what the Universe was going to throw at them this time…


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **I realize in certain parts of this chapter there are seeming political discrepancies. These will be explained in later chapters.

**Minbari Prototype vessel **_**White Star**_

**Hyperspace, near source of anomalous power readings**

**September 20****th****, 2260**

**1300 hrs**

Commander Susan Ivanova sat in the command chair, listening to the Minbari crew as they prepared to jump to normal space. They had been close enough to take definite power readings of the area for over three hours now, and she had decided it was time to take a closer look, before anything went wrong. The enormous energy spikes were increasing in frequency, and Ivanova didn't like the idea of waiting until whatever it was had sufficient defenses in the system to make sure even the _White Star _couldn't go unnoticed.

What concerned her the most, however, was the number of oddities that had begun cropping up in this area. It was well known that no one went to Sigma 957 unless they had a death wish, but no one visited this star system. It was off the hyperspace beacon, so navigation was a nightmare anyways, plus the system primary was a well-documented neutron star, so the gravitational distortions were even worse than normal. Except that now they weren't. In fact, this localized area of hyperspace had hardly any distortions whatsoever. The _White Star _was off the beacon, but they still had no problems finding their position, or staying where they wanted to. It was all very strange, and that was enough to put Ivanova on high alert. First Ones and odd spatial anomalies were things that were typically to be avoided, and when the two started to mix, it was time to get the hell out of the area. Yet, here she was, going right to the source in the dubious hopes of finding allies against the Shadows.

At last turning her gaze away from the window, she said, "Marcus, are we ready to jump to normal space yet?"

"Just finished," Marcus replied. "We can jump whenever you're ready."

"Good. Jump."

Marcus translated the order for the crew, and then the familiar vortex of an exit point formed in front of the ship. Passing through the stable dimensional rip, the advanced sensor suite aboard the _White Star_ immediately began collecting information.

Knowing that jump points were about as subtle as a llama in the command center, Ivanova ordered, "Keep scanning, but get us moving, and find someplace to hide."

Marcus translated, and the ship began moving on navigational thrusters, getting out of that general area of space while trying to avoid attracting further attention.

"The system's fairly empty," Marcus said, "but I believe I've found a suitable hiding spot. There's a large dust cloud approximately 50,000 kilometers to our one o'clock. If we can get there undetected, it should be enough to mask our signature until we either power up main engines or open a jump point."

"Good, take us in, navigational thrusters only" Ivanova replied. "Any idea what's causing those anomalies yet?"

Marcus looked at the scanners again, then immediately blanched. He gulped, then looked up and said, "Actually, yes. There appears to be a fairly large military buildup roughly .8 A.U.'s from the system primary, clustering around one bloody large object."

"Can we get a visual?" Ivanova said, her voice steady despite the uncertain feeling now beginning to form in her gut.

"Working on it… there."

The holographic screen at the front of the bridge activated, and Ivanova saw a gigantic matte black ring, easily two kilometers in diameter, with two smaller structures on either side that looked suspiciously like weapons platforms. Swarming around these structures were ships the likes of which Ivanova had never seen before. Ivanova estimated there were at least twenty, and they all looked like warships. It reminded her of Babylon 5, only with more guns flying all over the place.

The ships were odd in and of themselves. It looked to Commander Ivanova like there were two distinct races represented in this group. Most of the ships were ugly, blocky green things with a large ring-shaped structure around the drive section. The others were beautiful in Susan's opinion- graceful, with flowing lines that could almost have been organic, if not for the magnificent gleam coming off their silvery hulls. The two weapons platforms were the same, one was ugly, with panels that looked as though they had been welded on as an afterthought, and one that looked like an odd-shaped bubble floating serenely in space.

"Marcus," she said slowly, "do we have any idea whose ships those are?"

The ranger replied immediately.

"None," he said. "The ones with the rings around them have several architectural similarities with Earth Force ships, but the design is completely alien. As for the others, well," he smiled, trying to ease some of the tension, "I thought only the Minbari could make warships that lovely to look at."

"Cute," Ivanova said, trying to appear unfazed by the ranger's infectious humor. "Can you get a reading on their power levels?"

"That was the other thing I was going to mention," Marcus said, returning to the grave demeanor he carried into combat. "The power reading for both of those species is almost off the scale. It's definitely First One technology. They don't appear to be at combat alert, and their power output is almost on par with Ambassador Kosh's transport."

"So, we actually found more First Ones?" Ivanova asked.

"Maybe…" Marcus began to reply, but a beeping console cut him off. He looked at it briefly, and then said sharply, "Shadows vessels, coming out of hyperspace! They're 500,000 kilometers out-system from the alien fleet!"

"How many, and where are they going?" Ivanova demanded. Marcus looked up at her.

"Six of their big ones," he said, "and they're headed right for the aliens."

Ivanova turned to the viewer and stayed silent. There was nothing the _White Star_ could do against six Shadow Battlecrabs, and everyone on the bridge knew it. All they could do at this point was watch. If the aliens really were First Ones, then this would be an interesting show, and if they weren't, then it would be a slaughter. Still, the Shadows rarely sent any more ships than absolutely necessary, and six Shadow vessels were a show of force to any race.

As soon as the Shadows had completely fazed in, the alien fleet began to look like an anthill that had been kicked over. Patrols that had been maintaining a perimeter immediately pulled in and took up defensive positions around the giant ring and its two companion platforms. Short-lived flashes of light and fire appeared on several of the green ships. All the other small vessels began forming battle groups in alien configurations. The biggest surprise to Ivanova, however, came when the two large silvery ships simply disappeared. They couldn't be picked up on visual or scanners, low powered as they were. It had to be cloaking technology of some kind, and Commander Ivanova suspected that nothing on board the _White Star_ could detect where those ships were now, low power emissions or not.

The Shadow vessels charged into the closest formation, consisting of two of the silver ships and three of the green ships. They were all roughly the same size, and all were slightly smaller than the _White Star._ One of the Battlecrabs fired, and one of the silver ships simply combusted. The Shadow slicer beam moved on to one of the green ships, which shuddered for a moment, and then it, too, succumbed.

The remaining ships fired as one on the Battlecrab. The green ships used what looked suspiciously like mass drivers, while the remaining silver ship fired a coherent yellow-orange beam. The silver ship concentrated on hitting the drive spines, where they seemed to do a surprising amount of damage, while the other weapons, which were now undoubtedly mass drivers, slammed into the body of the ship. The rounds didn't do much damage to the overall structure, but they did punch through the armor and cause the ship to leak an inky black mess that looked suspiciously like some kind of blood.

Then the four larger green ships closed and opened fire with even larger mass drivers, and these punched right through the Battlecrab. Each ship carried several mass drivers each, and most of them hit their target, and the formidable war vessel was rendered dead.

The Shadows broke formation after that, and began to engage the alien ships that were now closing in on them. Before they could open fire, however, two violet colored beams lanced out of nowhere and struck on Battlecrab in center mass. The 'crab halted for a moment, and it was enough time for four more of those yellow-orange beams to open up and hit the gleaming carapace. The Shadow resisted for a moment, and then shriveled up, halting all motions and looking for all the world like a dead spider.

Another Battlecrab made a close pass at the area where the beams had originated from, and then froze, not doing anything, while the smaller, visible ships of both designs closed in and began firing. The black ship sat there, unresisting, as it was torn apart by the searching, caressing energy beams and the devastating concussions of the mass drivers.

The remaining three crabs were left alone, the alien ships giving them room as they charged into range, and then suddenly two of the 'crabs disappeared in a wave of nuclear light. Tearing her eyes from the spectacle for a precious moment, Ivanova looked to Marcus and demanded, "What the hell was that?"

"Antimatter explosions. Several of them," Marcus replied. "It looks like several missiles were fired as soon as the Shadows entered the system, and quite a few seemed to have made it to their target intact."

Ivanova turned her attention back to the battle, which was close to being decided. The last Battlecrab seemed to have gone crazy. It fired indiscriminately, destroying any of the smaller ships that got in its way. It fired once at empty space, and the drive fin of one of the cloaked ships faded into view, spinning a few times before exploding in a soundless puff of flame and smoke. The Shadow continued on, destroying smaller ships and dodging the fire from the larger ones, moving on a seemingly random course.

The course was not random, however, and the killer warship's purpose became clear all too late. Bypassing the last of the ships, it attempted to open fire on the giant black ring, which every ship in the area appeared to be guarding. Just as it lined up its shot, a missile from the green and brown utilitarian platform struck the side of the 'crab, and the antimatter explosion, while not enough to destroy the massive ship, was enough to push its aim off. The deadly slicer beam missed the ring by mere kilometers, and cutting right through the center of the platform that had spoiled its aim.

The platform was destroyed instantly, the beam cutting it cleanly in half, and the Battlecrab attempted to reorient itself to fire again. The distraction bought by the platform crew's lives was enough, though. As the Shadow vessel lined up again, a large round of unknown material slammed into its rear end at a good percent of the speed of light. The round penetrated, and sent the 'crab spinning, just as the odd purple beams again flashed from nowhere, and the weapons of a half dozen other ships, including the remaining platform, struck it at the same time. The fire was overwhelming, and the Shadow Battlecrab burst into pieces.

The bridge crew of the _White Star _sat in stunned silence, thinking over what had just happened. Six Shadow Battlecrabs, the most powerful warship in known space, had just been destroyed by (supposedly) two unknown alien races. True, the aliens had lost a number of ships, but those were ships no larger than the _White Star_ itself. The six larger ships, each about the size of a Sharlin cruiser, had taken damage, but none had been completely destroyed. Truly, these could be called First Ones.

Commander Ivanova shook herself get her mind back on the present, then looked around. She was about to begin issuing orders to open a comm channel to the aliens when the sensor console began beeping.

Instead of orders, Ivanova found herself wondering out loud, "What else can happen now?"

Marcus said, "Gravitational distortion roughly 400,000 kilometers to our eight o'clock." He checked the scanners again, then said, "It's a ship, using some type of unknown Faster Than Light drive. Silhouette matches one group of the ships around that large artifact. It's green, utilitarian, and has a ring around its drive section." He would have gone on, but another console began beeping. Marcus listened to the report, and then, in a slightly more urgent tone, said, "It's scanning the system. Bloody powerful scans. I think it's safe to say they know we're here."

"Ah, hell," Ivanova said. "Engines online, get-"

"They're sending a message," Marcus said, cutting her off. "They're using an incredibly advanced form of radio broadcast, but we are receiving, and it stands to reason they can understand us as well."

"What's the message say?" Ivanova asked.

"They're broadcasting in four distinct languages, none of them Interlac," Marcus said, "but one of them is in an unknown dialect of English. It's understandable, if a little odd."

"Let me hear it," Ivanova said.

"_This is Commander Richard Montoya of the TAS Solaris. You are encroaching on Alliance Territory. Identify yourselves or be destroyed!"_

Ivanova blinked. Alliance? Which one? Whoever or whatever they were, Commander Montoya sounded like he wanted an answer quickly.

"Well, we knew that we'd have to talk to them eventually," she said to herself. Then, louder, she said, "Open a channel. Let me talk to them."

"Channel open," Marcus replied.

"This is Commander Susan Ivanova of the Independent Space Station Babylon 5. We're here investigating some strange energy readings coming from this system. I assure you our intentions here are peaceful."

The comm was quiet for a moment, and then Commander Montoya spoke.

"We are transmitting an audio/visual radio frequency. You sound Human, but I want to see your face."

"Did we get that, and can we transmit on it?" Ivanova asked.

"Yes and yes," Marcus replied. "Opening the specified frequency. Stand by."

The forward viewer switched from the image of the strange ship to the visage of a man of Hispanic descent in his late thirties or early forties, with a face that had obviously seen more than its fair share of combat. Still, there were laugh lines at the corners of his eyes, and to Susan's trained eye, he looked as though he might be a fun guy to hang out with at the Officer's Club. He wasn't smiling now, however.

"So, you are Human," he said, "but your ship is of no design a Human would ever consider. Tell me, what species built it?"

Ivanova considered his question for a moment. The _White Star_ was still a closely guarded secret of the Minbari Religious Caste, but if they were going to get out of this situation at all, she would have to start building trust somewhere.

"It's Minbari-built," she said at length. "Now, my turn. When did Earth Force start building ships like yours, and what kind of drive did you use to get back in-system just now?"

Montoya looked confused.

"What in the name of the Hiver Queen Iztipik is Earth Force?" he said. "And have you never heard of a Node Drive? Never mind that. What matters is that you are an unknown, and that our superiors will probably want to speak. Normally I would detain and question you and your crew, but no warship currently in-system has the facilities, and the only remaining station is filled with a liquid oxygen medium. Additionally, this star system is currently under martial law and on high alert, so under the provisions of the new Alliance, no diplomatic meetings can take place here. Do you have anywhere that could accommodate such talks, Commander?"

Ivanova took a moment to digest the rapid-fire stream of answers, questions, orders and logic before speaking again.

"Actually, yes, Commander, I do," she said with confidence. "The space station Babylon 5 is roughly a two day jump from here, around a star we know as Epsilon Eridani. I'm a little shocked that you hadn't heard of it before, but whatever. This day has already been too weird for my tastes. When can your diplomatic team be ready? We'll come back to escort you there."

Montoya said, "That will not be necessary, Commander. Epsilon Eridani is practically on Earth's doorstep, and every Sol Force ship knows the way. If you'll arrive there in two days, then our diplomatic team will arrive in two and a half. That should give you enough time to adequately brief your superiors.

"Now, in the interest of continued peaceful relations between our two governments, I suggest that you start making that two day journey immediately. Unless you have something else you wish to discuss?"

Ivanova was taken aback. First he negotiates a peaceful contact, and then kicks her out of the system?

"No, nothing further to say, Commander," she said. I guess we'll be expecting your people in two and a half days. _White Star_ out."

"Well, that went well, didn't it?" Marcus said, speaking for the first time in minutes.

"Could have been worse- they could have shot us first, and then asked questions to our floating corpses. Just get us out of here; we've got enough to think about for the moment."

"Maybe you do, I just get to go back to watching the scanners in hyperspace for two days, but alright. Opening jump point now."

The _White Star _came about, opening a large rip in normal space just before it, and passed into hyperspace carrying its precious message…


	6. Chapter 6

**Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 22, 2260**

**1200 hrs**

Captain John Sheridan was excited. The _White Star _had just returned from its mission, and the shuttle had completed its docking maneuvers. Now, standing in the docking bay, Sheridan waited as the elevator brought his second in command back to him. Ivanova had been vague over the comm, but that was to be expected over an open channel, with any number of alien governments trying to spy on them.

The elevator stopped, and Commander Susan Ivanova and the Anla'shok Marcus Cole emerged. The Earth Force officer looked frustrated, while Marcus wore a neutral expression that Sheridan couldn't quite identify.

As they approached, Sheridan asked, "Well, what did you find out there?"

Ivanova looked her commanding officer in the eye and said, "A headache. I'm going to go take a shower." Then she walked by him. She knew it was insubordinate, but the Captain was laid back enough to let it go sometimes.

Sheridan, thoroughly confused, looked at the Ranger.

"Marcus?" he asked.

The neutral expression dissolved into sarcastic delight.

"What did we find?" he said. "Well, we did find First Ones. Three of them, in fact. At least we think it was three. The first was the Shadows, who we are fairly certain doesn't want to help us fight the Shadows. Then there was a race that looked like Humans, talked like Humans, and acted like Humans, but didn't build ships like Humans. So the question we were asking all the way back was 'are they Human?' Then there were the aliens who built very pretty ships with even prettier weapons, but we never saw what they looked like. None of that matters, of course, since their envoy will be here in about ten hours anyway. There was a big battle, in which several Shadow vessels were destroyed, and then we were detected. We introduced ourselves, set up a meeting, and then we were politely asked to leave before something bad happened to us. Does that answer your question, Captain?"

Now Sheridan was even more confused, but one thing did stand out and made sense, even though he wished it hadn't.

"Wait, you said they're coming here?" he asked. "Why in the world are they coming here, and why did Ivanova give them our coordinates?"

"Funny thing, that," Marcus replied, "she didn't actually give them our coordinates. She said we were at Epsilon Eridani, and the aliens said they knew right where it was."

Sheridan grunted in acknowledgement. The situation looked like it had gotten a bit out of hand, and that would definitely explain Ivanova's attitude.

After considering the situation for a moment, Sheridan said, "Go get cleaned up, Marcus. Then find Susan and Garibaldi and meet in my office in one hour."

"Yes, Captain," Marcus said, and then he was off. Sheridan stayed behind for a moment, and then he, too, left.

**Briefing Room, Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 22, 2260**

**1300 hrs**

Sheridan sat at the head of the table, ready to begin. In front of him sat his inner circle, his most trusted confidants. They consisted of Commander Ivanova, Michael Garibaldi, Doctor Franklin, the Anla'shok Marcus Cole, and the Minbari Ambassador Delenn. He considered them for a few moments, trying to gauge their reactions. Susan and Marcus already knew, of course, and John had seen their reactions first hand, but the others knew nothing. Garibaldi would be instantly suspicious, and Franklin would probably be indifferent as usual. Delenn was another story altogether. John never knew what she was going to do or say next.

"Alright everybody, I'll get right to the point," Sheridan said, beginning the meeting. "In about nine hours one, maybe two alien ambassadors are going to arrive here. According to Susan and Marcus they may be First Ones, but we can't be sure. Even so, we need all the allies we can get, so I'm going to speak with them. I'll also want everyone here present when they arrive. Ivanova, I'll want you in CnC when they get here, and assign them to docking bays that don't have anyone else around them. I want them completely isolated. Then get down there as quickly as possible."

Ivanova nodded solemnly. She knew what was at stake.

"Michael," the Captain continued, "I want an honor guard present, no more than four, but make sure we've got backup, just in case. Remember, we don't want any incidents, so no one with itchy trigger fingers."

Garibaldi looked thoughtful for a moment, and then said, "I know just the people."

"Good," Sheridan said. "Delenn, you'll meet them with me. The Minbari are the oldest of the Younger Races, so if they know anybody, it'll be you. Unfortunately, we need to keep this under wraps for now, so Marcus will be your only personal guard. If any of the other ambassadors get word of what's going on, nine kinds of hell are going to break loose.

"Franklin, we'll need you to do a quick medical scan; see if there're any diseases that we could pass to them, or them to us."

"No problem," Franklin said. "I'll also want to have the opportunity to do a full medical workup on one of these 'humans'. You know, see if they really are human, or if they're just a close analogue."

"Agreed, but we can't push them," Sheridan said. "I'm as interested as you are, but not at the cost of a potential alliance.

"Now, are there any other questions?" There were none.

"Good. I'll see you all in about nine hours. Dismissed."

On her way out, Delenn paused and turned back to the Captain.

"John," she said, "you will, of course, allow Lennier to accompany me."

Sheridan replied, "Of course. Lennier is trustworthy enough. Besides, I'd imagine it's pretty hard to keep secrets from someone like him."

"When he truly wants to know, it is almost impossible to keep information from somehow working its way back to his ears," Delenn said, smiling. Then she left.

**Command Center, Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 22, 2260**

**2205 hrs**

A console beeped, and the technician on duty looked at the readout in confusion. It was not uncommon for things to beep in CnC, in fact the Jumpgate activation warning chimed every few minutes. This beeping, however, was different. It was the special anomaly warning.

"Commander," the tech said, "you'd better take a look at this."

Susan Ivanova walked over to the main console where the tech stood and looked over his shoulder. The computer couldn't identify the anomaly other than that it was some kind of gravitational distortion.

"Do we have any cameras near there?" she asked. The technician consulted the day's itinerary.

He said, "Yes, ma'am. Maintenance cam 13 is only five hundred kilometers from the distortion."

"Orient it, and show me what's happening," Commander Ivanova ordered.

Outside, the robotic drone rotated so that its electronic eye was pointed toward the distortion. A liquid black bubble appeared in space, seemingly from nowhere, and decelerated from super-luminal speeds as it became visible. Then, the shimmering bubble dissipated, revealing a small ship, roughly 190 meters in length, and composed of architecture that was at once, frighteningly familiar, and completely alien.

The design looked Human. The overall lines and architecture looked like something the military designers back on Earth would have thought up. In other words, the basic shape was that of a brick. The main hull was rectangular, and a dull, olive green in color. Several weapons covered every surface, giving it a substantial firing arc, although the majority were on the ventral section. The bridge section, however, had no weapons. Instead, it bristled with antennae, several of which looked like scanners, although no one could say for sure.

The oddest feature, however, was the engine section. It was set off from the rest of the ship by several connecting tubes, some of which looked large enough to be passageways for the crew, while others were obviously simply mechanical and electrical pathways. The engine area itself had several rear-facing weapons, and the exhaust vents let of an eerie purple glow. Suspended around the engines was the point of the most interest to the technically inclined crew of Babylon 5: A giant ring-shaped structure, adorned with dozens, if not hundreds of miniature pylons oriented fore to rear. It served no obvious purpose, and could be any one of a dozen things. The first thought that came to mind was artificial gravity, but it didn't spin, so that was out.

Any further speculation would have to wait, however, because Commander Susan Ivanova, Second in Command of Babylon 5, Earth Force officer, and all-around pessimist, chose that moment to speak the ominous words: "They're here."

She shook her head, and then said, "Alert the Captain. We'll put them in docking bay twenty seven. Clear all personnel from that area now! Hail the alien ship and transmit parking coordinates. We don't need them just taking up station wherever they want."

She kept watching the monitor, and gasped softly as two shuttles launched from the alien ship. They had been docked on an external port right behind the command section. They were almost completely hidden before their launch. One looked like she expected- very similar to the ship that bore it, although the conspicuous ring around the engines was absent. The other, however, looked like a manta ray. The flat, diamond shaped shuttle was a silvery white, and the 'wings' looked so real she expected them to start waving at any time.

Ivanova heard the techs transmitting parking coordinates to the main ship, and informing the shuttles to turn over flight control to the station to begin docking maneuvers. There was no answer from the ships, but the orders were followed out, and the command crew had been briefed on the possibility of silence, so they did not press the aliens for a response.

"Lieutenant Corvin," Ivanova said, "CnC is yours. I have to get down to the docking bay." With that, she left the control center.

**Docking Bay, Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 22, 2260**

**2215 hrs**

Sheridan surveyed the area as his welcoming committee gathered around him. Garibaldi had already assured him that there wouldn't be any incidents, and that there was plenty of backup waiting if things went awry. Delenn was by his side, as always, and John was certain that she supported his decision to meet in private. Delenn's own bodyguards, Marcus Cole and the frighteningly efficient and dedicated Lennier were standing right behind them.

Franklin was off to one side, waiting with his medical equipment and trying to look unobtrusive and impassive. The unobtrusive part he got right, but he looked like a teenager getting his first new car. Despite his feigned indifference, Stephen was incredibly excited at the prospect of being the first to analyze a new kind of alien life. Oddly enough, he didn't do it for fame or recognition, although he would not turn down honors that were rightfully his. He did it simply because he liked to see new things, live through new experiences. He wasn't excited because he was the first doctor to see these aliens- he was excited because nobody knew anything about them yet.

Ivanova came in just as the shuttles were docking. Sheridan noticed this in passing, as well as Garibaldi and his honor guard forming up, because he was too busy studying the alien shuttle now docking. Ivanova had been right. It really did look like a Human shuttle, but it was of no design that Earth Force had ever used, and was such a complete deviance from the norm that it couldn't be any new kind of Earth Force ship. The lines were all wrong, and there was no effort to hide the weapons mounts on the outer hull, as standard shuttles did. This particular shuttle wasn't armed, but John could see where various weapons and ordinance could quickly and easily be loaded on.

The shuttle docked, and the Earth Force officers quickly moved into position. The other shuttle would be arriving shortly, and they would have to be ready to repeat the process. A hatch and ramp descended from the front of the shuttle, and the honor guard quickly took up ranks on either side of it, though they left enough room that there could be no mistake that it was an honor guard.

The alien's own honor guard descended from the shuttle first. John was disconcerted by their appearance. They weren't in any kind of dress uniform, like the B5 guards, but were rather decked out in full vacuum armor. The base color was drab green, and the highlights were dull brown. An opaque black visor obscured their faces behind full helmets, and they carried functional-looking rifles of unknown type. The weapons didn't look like PPG, but they also didn't quite look like the old slug-throwers.

The humanoid aliens stepped to either side of the ramp, holding their weapons at port-arms, away from the pistol grips and triggers, so there were no mistakes about hostile intent, despite their battle-ready appearance. Once they had settled, two more figures descended from the ship. They looked exactly like Humans. The first was male, apparently of Hispanic descent, and looked to be in his late thirties to early forties. He was clean shaven, and his jet black hair was perhaps slightly longer than Sheridan's, and was cut in a formal style. If he had been Earth Force, his hair would be pushing regulation limits, but not to the point of reprimand. He wore a utilitarian gray uniform, which was of the expected class and style of a naval uniform: Functional, but presentable. The uniform over-blouse was waist-length, like the Earth Force uniforms, but it overlapped across the chest, and a row of buttons closed the uniform on the right side of the torso. The collar lapels were high, but loose, and appeared to be made for sailors and officers who spent a good deal of time in that uniform. His demeanor was calm and assured, as though he knew exactly what was going to happen and was prepared for it. Either that or he simply didn't care.

The other was female, and not at all what one would expect from a first contact team. She looked to be in her late twenties, and had short-cropped blonde hair and violet eyes, probably contact lenses. She was not what Sheridan would call beautiful, for she was far too rugged for that, but she did have a certain calm grace that was undeniable. She had pronounced cheekbones, giving her a slightly gaunt appearance, though she did not have the hungry look that Sheridan had seen in others like her. Her body, what he could see of it under her utility blue coveralls, appeared to be toned. She was not precisely feminine, but neither was she bulky. Everything about her bespoke a working woman, not afraid to get her hands dirty. In a way she reminded him of Ivanova, and from the way he felt the Commander stiffen at his side, she saw the resemblance as well.

Both of their uniforms were devoid of rank or other insignia, with one exception. On their right shoulder was a circular patch. It was difficult to see from the angle, but he could tell that there was a sword and stars, surrounded by several words.

The two beings walked between the two honor guards and stopped a few feet from Sheridan. The male stepped forward and spoke.

"Greetings from the Terran Alliance. I am Commander Richard Montoya, Captain of the TAS _Solaris_, and provisional ambassador to this station. This is my chief engineer, Lieutenant Commander Alexis Macintyre."

He said nothing more, so Sheridan began his own introductions.

"I'm Captain John Sheridan, captain of Babylon 5. This is my second in command, Commander Susan Ivanova, and my Security Chief, Michael Garibaldi. This is Ambassador Delenn of the Minbari Federation. Before we go on, my Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Franklin, would like to check you for any possible environmental incompatibilities. Purely routine, I assure you."

"I think you would also like to see if we are, in fact, Human. An understandable curiosity. Very well, Doctor, proceed." Montoya said.

Franklin wordlessly approached, masking his excitement with a look of absolute concentration, and used his portable scanner to make a preliminary check of their physiology. He went over both of them, despite the malevolent glare that the female directed at him the entire time.

Franklin consulted the readout for a moment, and then looked to his captain, and said, "Well, they're Human, and from a medical standpoint, we're all safe. I can't really say much more than that without a full medical workup, so I'll let you take it from here."

Sheridan nodded, and the doctor retreated into the shadows. Then John said, "I'll get right to the biggest question on everyone's mind. Where are you from?"

Montoya frowned.

"That, Captain," he said, "is a long and very ugly story. You won't believe all of it, either. At least not at first. Suffice to say we are from Earth. The rest will have to wait for the formal briefing."

"Okay," Sheridan replied, "we'll let that one sit for now. Next question is: why did your government send a military commander as a provisional ambassador, and why did you bring your chief engineer with you? Uh, no offense, Commander." The engineer smiled dangerously at his comment, but did and said nothing.

"Commander Macintyre is a capable officer, and one of the most natural linguists I have ever met. Whenever I walk into engineering, I hear the most colorful and interesting cursing coming from her mouth in so many languages and dialects that I often don't know what she's saying. The crew and I have, however, picked up a number of amusing oaths from her over the years.

"As for why me, that's just as simple, though a slightly longer story. I hold a degree in foreign relations, although I never pursued that career path, so I am qualified. I speak three dialects of Terran, as well as Liirian Fleetsong, and I'm the only qualified man that Admiral Remington could come up with on such short notice. It's also possible that I will be given the position permanently, as I am military. Traditionally, a civilian handles negotiating and foreign relations. Unfortunately, traditionally we also wind up at war with people soon after meeting them. So, we're trying something new. Maybe it will work, and maybe it won't. Only time will tell."

Sheridan was considering this when the airlock doors opened again, and the other alien shuttle came in and docked. Both Human groups turned and walked over to the next berth to receive the other aliens. Montoya spoke as they walked.

"I am to be your translator and liaison with the Liir ambassador. I speak fluent Fleetsong, as I said, and so I can clear up any misconstrued concepts."

They stopped in front of the Liir transport, and watched as a hatch opened in the bottom of the hull. From it, three of the largest beings Sheridan had ever laid eyes on emerged. The honor guard even took a step back in instinctive readiness as the encounter-suited aliens appeared. They looked like robotic dolphins, each with different colors marking the white suits, and six robotic tentacles emerging from the sides. They hovered above the deck, using a means that Sheridan couldn't immediately identify, and moved using a swimming motion, as if they were in water. The smallest of them was six and a half feet in length, and the largest one, in the middle of the group, was almost four meters long.

Watching them approach, John heard Garibaldi say, "That's a hella big fish. And it's got guns." At that point Sheridan noticed that each of them had weapons of some kind holstered among the other equipment built into the suit.

When they reached the honor guard, the two smaller aliens fell back, and the larger one approached until it was fifteen feet from Sheridan. Its entire length floated between the honor guard, whose members were looking decidedly nervous now.

From this range, Sheridan could detect the smell of ozone coming from the suit. It was not uncommon for alien environment suits to let off a smell of some kind, but this was by far the most pleasant he had experienced. It wasn't much, just enough to remind him of thunderstorms back on Earth.

The creature began emitting a series of clicks, whistles, and other decidedly dolphin and whale sounds, while at the same time the beings present all felt a slight brush against their consciousness, the translation being delivered directly into their minds.

"_Greetings honored Humans. It is a glorious day to meet new allies…" _it said. The voice seemed at once supremely masculine, but with a feminine undertone that could not be ignored.

It was cut off in mid-sentence as Garibaldi took two steps back and half-reached for his weapon.

"Get out of my head," he growled.

Montoya stepped forward, his stance becoming slightly aggressive.

"Cut out your right eye," he said. "That is what you are asking for. The Liir are a telepathic species. It's how they communicate, and how they experience the world. If you are uncomfortable with this, I will try to accommodate you, but do not insult them further."

That said, Montoya ignored the shocked expressions on the welcoming committee's faces, and turned to the large Liir.

"Honored Elder," he said, "please speak to me, that I might translate to them."

The Liir gave no outward answer, but instead started speaking in its strange click and whistle language again. This time, however, there was no disconcerting mental communication accompanying it. Montoya looked to Sheridan and Delenn.

"This is the Black, wisest of naval commanders. He was curious as to the nature of the alternate Humans who spied us at the battle two days ago, and decided to come and meet them himself. He greets you as friends and allies in the Black Sea, and hopes that we might achieve peace and understanding amongst each other, and obliterate our enemies with minimal loss of life."

Sheridan, still visibly shaken, asked, "You understand what it's saying?"

"What I can hear," Montoya replied. "Some of the harmonics are outside of Human hearing, and the meaning is given to me telepathically."

Sheridan could only nod, at a loss for words. Delenn, however, came to his aid.

She stepped forward and said, "Thank you for your tidings of peace in these dark times. The Minbari look forward to fighting the darkness alongside all who would share the burden with us. As a sign of good faith, please, speak to me as you would, but respect the privacy of my own mind."

Sheridan reached for her to stop her from acquiescing to such a thing, but Delenn put her hand on his arm, silently telling him that she knew what she was doing.

Looking to the half-Minbari, the Black said, "_Thank you for your confidence. Fear not, for we do not read another's mind without permission. Such a thing is an invasion of the self, and is among our more atrocious crimes."_

Delenn looked pleased, and then made introductions to the Liir.

"I am Delenn of the House of Mir, Minbari Ambassador to Babylon 5. This is the station commander, John Sheridan, and Commander Susan Ivanova, his second in command. Michael Garibaldi is the head of security, and therefore it is his job to be paranoid. Please excuse his mistrust."

The Black spoke to Delenn, and Montoya translated for the other's benefit.

"Michael is indeed a paranoid one, but he is honest. It is a virtue that Liir have come to greatly appreciate in Humans, for they will not try to deceive us. We shall respect his wishes and opinions, so long as he remains peaceful towards us."

Sheridan laughed, breaking the tension in the air.

"Well, now that we've been introduced, insulted one another, and apologized for it, what say we adjourn to a more comfortable setting? Ivanova, if you'll please lead our honored guests to the briefing room."

"Of course, Captain," she said, her tones clipped. "This way, everyone."

Sheridan and Delenn were the last to leave. Before they did, John held Delenn's hand and looked her in the eye.

"Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome, John," Delenn replied. "Now, let us catch up with them. It is time to make history."

Together, they followed the others to the briefing room.


	7. Chapter 7

**Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 22****nd****, 2260**

**2230 hrs**

The passageways to the briefing room in blue sector were clear of any and all traffic. Mr. Garibaldi's people did good work, and somehow managed to keep all the alien ambassadors and maintenance personnel away from that area for a few crucial minutes. Sheridan wanted to keep the aliens under wraps as much as possible for the moment, and while the humans would blend in well enough, it would be difficult to explain what a four meter long, encounter-suited dolphin was doing on the station, along with its two meter long bodyguards.

When they reached the briefing room, the two bodyguards waited outside, effectively taking up much of the passageway in doing so. The others all crowded into the room, with the station command staff and the Minbari ambassador on one side of the table, and the alternate Humans on the other. The Black took up most of the space behind the alien Humans, his bulk somehow curling slightly so that he could look directly at the table without pushing anyone out of the way.

When they were settled in, Sheridan looked to Delenn to begin the meeting, as she was a far better diplomat than he.

Delenn leaned forward intently and said, "First, let me officially welcome you all to Babylon 5. It is a neutral station, who's purpose is to provide a place where all races may come together to work out their differences peacefully, and avoid costly and unnecessary wars. While it is not always successful in this mission, many great things have been done here which would not have been possible without it, and it is our hope that it will help us to accomplish even greater things in the near future. Now, perhaps it is time for you to explain exactly who you are, and where you come from."

Commander Montoya sighed and sat back.

"You're not even going to believe half of this," he said, "but I'll give it my best shot. We're from Earth, but not the Earth as you know it. Before I continue on, may I ask: What Earth year is it now?"

Garibaldi simply began chuckling, finding the whole situation incredibly amusing, and Sheridan guessed he was wondering when he'd be allowed to lock these people up "for their own good". Sheridan, however, had an idea that these new Humans were telling the truth. At least as far as they believed it to be.

With that in mind, Captain Sheridan decided to humor them, and said, "It's September 22nd, 2260."

Commander Macintyre's jaw dropped, and she blurted, "Jesus, and you guys are this far along? That's incredible! How-"

"Commander!" Montoya said sharply, silencing his companion. "There will be time for that sort of thing later. For now it's enough," he said.

"Thank you for the information, Captain. Now, as I said, we are not from the Earth you know. You won't understand anything we say without a little history, and I dare say that Warrant Officer Garibaldi there wouldn't be happy with anything less than the entire story, so I'll start at the beginning.

"In the Earth year 2371, Humanity escaped from Einstein's cage. Through an experiment gone wrong we discovered the ring-shaped engines of the Node drive. With this engine, we can latch on to spatial strings as outlined by the Grand Universe Theory. Using these strings, we can jump to other stars at many times the speed of light. It took thirty years, but we finally developed and built our first colony ship- the _Nova Maria_. In 2405 it launched, carrying our best and brightest, bound for Proxima Centauri. There was no hurry, no rush, and the _Maria _wasn't armed. After all our years of searching the stars, we had decided that the galaxy was devoid of intelligent life, and the universe was ours for the taking.

"Before the _Nova Maria_ even passed the Moon, the crew detected a large number of unknown ships coming in. Hails were sent out, but there was no response. The aliens, who we later named 'Hivers', fired without warning and destroyed the _Maria_ with their first salvo. All of Humanity's hopes of peaceful expansion were destroyed that day, and we were almost wiped out as a species. The Hiver fleet bombed Earth for two days before we managed to coordinate and unleash our full nuclear arsenal on them. Very few of their ships escaped, and we knew that they would be back.

"After the invasion was repelled, Earth was unified for the first time in history. We came together under a single banner, and developed the first unified Earth government- SolForce. Under this government we were ruled by the High General, who had the authority to direct all of Humanity towards whatever goals were necessary for Human survival and expansion. Over the next 200 years Earth was ruled by many generals, most of whom were neutral in the grand scheme of things, fighting where it was needed, expanding when possible, and in general simply directing Earth into the future. There were three High Generals, however, who were nothing less than tyrants, and they shaped the very nature of our current political situation.

"It was under one of these generals that we first found one of the younger races. Solforce had been in power for nearly fifty years, and High General Vladimir Wolfstein was in power. He was of German/Russian descent, and represented the worst of both of those cultures. Scouts from the colony at Vision discovered a world outside of normal Earth influence. It was populated by a primitive species that called themselves Drazi."

There were shocked expressions on the other side of the table, but none of the supposedly alternate Humans seemed to notice.

"They had just discovered fire, and were no threat to Earth or its new interstellar holdings. General Wolfstein, however, read the report, noted that without the native species, it would be a prime candidate for colonization, and ordered the 3rd Fleet, stationed at Vision, to wipe out the Drazi and begin preparing the planet for colonizing. The admiral of the 3rd Fleet refused, and the governor of Vision declared independence. They were followed shortly by Hitomi, Wolf, and Basis. These four systems then banded together and formed the Colonial Protectorate, guarded by the entirety of the 3rd, 5th, and 8th Fleets, whose crews were entirely made up of colonials."

Commander Macintyre picked up the story at this point.

"Over the next 100 years we saw a complete change in the way we viewed both ourselves and our galaxy," she said, her hard-edged voice lending her an air of authority. "We fought each other, of course. The High Generals always wanted to bring the Protectorate back under their power, and some tried peacefully, while others tried to take the colonies by force, though they never openly declared war.

"We also found other races, some as primitive as the Drazi, and established laws of protection over them. Sometimes SolForce found them, and thankfully a benevolent General was usually in power, and sometimes the Protectorate found them, and extended their umbrella over a new race. We did this as both SolForce and the Protectorate tracked the Hivers across the galaxy, killing them whenever we found them. It was never easy, since their teleportation technology allows them to bring large numbers of forces all the way from their Homeworld at incredible speeds, but we still managed.

"We also met the Tarka, the only space-faring race besides us, the Hivers, and the Liir. Those pompous lizards actually thought that they had a right to conquer everything in their path, including us. There was bitter fighting on that front, too, but it wasn't as bad. The Tarkas were plagued by their own internal politics, giving us room to breathe. Their upper class, who seems to rule their society by general consensus, didn't consider Humans a threat until it was too late, and we had expanded right to their borders. It also helps that a lot of Tarkas are squeamish about killing Humans face-to-face. It seems we remind them of children, and killing us is like killing young members of their own race. In fact it was their females who pushed for the current non-aggression treaty between our races.

"We also advanced technologically. War will do that to any species, and our willingness to adapt to a new situation allowed us the mental flexibility to make great leaps. We developed fusion early on, and we've had antimatter power for some time now, too. Mass drivers were always our weapons of choice, and we've made them quite powerful. We've also developed newer, better alloys like the polysilicates, and we have incredibly fast courier ships to deliver messages and orders to other star systems."

Commander Montoya broke in.

"Not all of our advances have been of a military nature," he said. "We have also made breakthroughs in every walk of civilian life. Biotechnical implants and world-wide infonets have revolutionized mass communication. Medical technology has eliminated most natural diseases among our people, and injuries typically heal in half the time it took before the 200 Year War. Our economies boom on every planet, and can be fully established on a new world in less than two years, depending on how much terraforming is required."

"I see," Delenn said. She was the only person on her side of the table who was able to digest most of the information readily. Lennier and Marcus may also have been able to do so, as they both knew similar techniques to keep the mind cleared of unnecessary questions, but they were in no position to speak.

Delenn went on, saying, "Still, you have not yet explained how your war ended, or how you managed to come to this universe."

"Of course," Montoya said. "Well, we encountered the Liir last. They had no allies at the time, and were overly suspicious of everyone among the stars, and we weren't the most inviting of species. We went to war with each other for all of four months. It was a disaster for both sides, and we went to the negotiation tables. We hashed out an uneasy truce that eventually became an alliance. Between the two of us, we managed to beat the Hivers back into their home arm of the galaxy, and caused so many losses among the Tarka that they had to pull back to only a portion of their former empire. From there we managed to set up a fragile mutual non-aggression treaty between all three of our races.

"That was roughly four years ago. Shortly before the peace with the Tarkas, the last high general of SolForce, General Yokaro Hishaki, a forward-thinking humanitarian, contacted the Colonial Protectorate and made an offer of peace. Such things had been done before, but General Hishaki made one new concession- he would not force a merge with SolForce. The military government of Earth was to be dissolved, and SolForce would continue to exist only as a limited military body, whose sole mandate is to protect the inner colonies of Earth and the Protectorate. The Colonies agreed, and the new government was instated. The peace with the Tarkas was then followed by the formation of the Terran Alliance, made up of the Greater Republic of Sol and the Colonial Protectorate, and all protected planets.

"Then, two years ago, an idea was brought before Congress to solidify our alliance with the Liir. We would terraform an entire world with the sole purpose of being a jointly colonized world. We selected the Avalon system, which is right between our two borders. The _Solaris _was out on patrol in this new colony system, and had been for months, when we picked up signs of a new jump point. It led to the V931 star system, now being called Threshold. It's a neutron star system, previously unexplored, with nothing of any real interest in it. No planets, asteroid belts, mineral deposits, or even funny-colored vapors. There is, however, an incredibly old artifact. Older than anything yet discovered. We activated that artifact, and began sending expeditions through. The artifact, which we have unofficially dubbed the 'D-Gate', connected with another artifact of similar construction and origin in orbit around another neutron star that we've codenamed Reach.

"Our scout was a Liir vessel called the _Red Dawn_. It came through successfully, and was immediately met by a ship from a race that we have never seen before. The ship was hostile, and nearly destroyed the scout. The _Red Dawn_ returned, and we immediately sent an expeditionary force to Reach and secured the D-Gate, setting up as many defenses as possible in the shortest amount of time. Six days later, while the _Solaris _was scouting nearby systems, the expeditionary force was attacked by six more ships from the same race. The ships were larger and more dangerous, but numbers were on our side, and we held our own. That was when the _Solaris_ arrived back in-system and detected your scout. You know the rest from there." Montoya sat back and allowed his hosts to digest the information that they had been given.

"Anything else about the Terran Alliance you want to know?" Montoya asked after a minute.

"No, that's alright," Sheridan said, smiling slightly. Then he became serious. "We'll obviously have more questions later on, but for now, that's enough. I would, however, like to know more about your friend there."

"That, and why you're so laid back about that oversized tuna swimmin' around inside your head," Garibaldi said, leaning forward intently.

Sheridan shot a warning look at his Security Chief and said, "Michael."

Delenn also looked to the officer.

"The Captain is right, Mr. Garibaldi," she said. "There will be time enough for such questions later. For the moment, I think it is only fair that we allow our guests to ask a few questions. For if, and I stress the 'if', their story is true, then they would most certainly be confused about our current situation."

"Sounds fair," Sheridan said. Looking to the alternate Humans and the Liir behind them, he said, "Alright, Commander Montoya, what would you like to know first?"

Montoya shrugged.

"Well," he said, "first just a simple rundown of this Earth's history. Then a quick brief on your current political situation, and a list of the current major players in this universe would be nice. Once that's done, I think we'll have enough background to begin asking intelligent questions about this new enemy that we're facing."

"That sounds like a good plan," Sheridan said. He looked down for a moment, collecting his thoughts, and trying to decide what all to tell the strangers, and what things would best be left out. After a moment, he began.

"Alright, we'll start at the beginning," he said. "The Centauri made first contact with us in 2156. Before then, we were still just trying to figure out how to safely get from one system to the other. From the Centauri we got jump engine technology, which allowed us to activate jump gates in order to access hyperspace. For a while we leased time on other race's gates, and then began building our own.

"Earth quickly became a major power among the Younger Races. We proved this in the 2230's, when a race known as the Dilgar began attacking the League of Non-Aligned Worlds. The League asked the Earth Alliance for help, and we agreed. There was bitter fighting, but in the end we managed to push the Dilgar back into their home system. We found out too late that the reason for the invasion was to save themselves. Their sun went nova shortly after the war ended, and the Dilgar are now considered an extinct race.

"Then, in the 40's, we were shown just how young we still are. We made contact with the Minbari, but the contact went bad. The captain of the Prometheus, the ship that found the Minbari, mistook their open gun ports for a sign of aggression, and ordered his crew to open fire. The Minbari ship that was hit was their flagship, and a member of their ruling council was killed in the attack. After that it was open war, and we were seriously outclassed.

"The Minbari had been a space faring race for over a thousand years, making them the oldest of the Younger Races, and we'd barely had a century to catch up. They completely destroyed our outer colonies, and almost wiped us out as a species. Twelve years later we're still recovering. It was grim all the way up until the end. They were poised to strike at Earth itself, and there wasn't a damned thing we could do about it, except put every last ship and soldier we had between them and Earth while we tried to evacuate the whole planet. Then, for reasons that they still like to keep to themselves, the Minbari surrendered.

"To ensure that mistakes like that never happened again, Earth and Minbar established the Babylon Project. There were… complications with the first four stations, but Babylon 5 has succeeded. It's a place where all races, no matter their level of technology or current form of government, can come together to work out their differences peacefully.

"At least, that was the plan. This year it's all kinda gone to hell. The League is about to fall apart, and the Centauri have completely enslaved the Narn. On top of all that, there's another war brewing, bigger and worse than anything we've ever seen before; but I'll get to that in a moment.

"You wanted to know the major players, Commander. First would be the Centauri and Narn. Those two have a century-old argument that they're still fighting out. Right now the Narn are losing, but we'll see just how it all unfolds in the end. I've already explained about the Minbari. Then there's Earth and the League of Non-Aligned Worlds. The League consists of the Drazi, Brakiri, Pak'ma'ra, Vree, Hyach, Gaim, Yolu, and a few others. Beyond that, there're only a few races that you need to know about, but they're the ones you really want to pay attention to.

"We call them the First Ones. Races far older and more powerful than we can imagine; whose histories go back further than any of our species. Mostly they keep to themselves, but there are two who do involve themselves in the affairs of the Younger Races. First are the Vorlons, who have been known to help us out at times, even though it's only when it suits their own purposes. You'll see the local ambassador, Kosh, sooner or later. Probably sooner, since he's already been asking about you.

"Last are the Shadows. Not much is known about them. The Minbari know the most, and their information is limited at best. What we do know is that every thousand years or so they come out of hibernation and start wars all over the galaxy, and every time they've been beaten back to their homeworld, but the cost has always been high. We've recently discovered that they're no longer hibernating, or whatever it is that they do for a thousand years, but starting up wars again.

"They are the ones who attacked you, Commander, and while I'm on the subject, I think it's time to bring you up to speed on something else. No one- not one of the Younger Races- has ever been able to stand up to a Shadow vessel without a major strategic advantage. What Ivanova saw you accomplish in that star system was beyond anything that we are capable of. If it had been Earth Force, the Centauri or even the Minbari, the Shadows would have just marched right through. Sure, we'd give 'em hell, but in the end it wouldn't have changed anything. That said, I think it's safe to say we'll be asking for your help in the coming days."

Sheridan leaned back and watched the expressions of his guests. At least, the expressions of the Humans. The big Liir behind them showed about as much emotion as Ambassador Kosh. Commander Montoya looked thoughtful, as though he were considering tactics and diplomacy at the same time. He probably was, since in Sheridan's experience diplomacy and war were much the same thing, with different battlegrounds. Lieutenant Commander Macintyre, however, looked confused about something.

"You have a question, Commander Macintyre?" he asked.

Macintyre looked up at him as though she had just noticed there were other people in the room, and then shook herself to clear her mind.

"Yes, sir," she said. "I was just thinking about the races you said made up the League of Non-Aligned Worlds."

"Go on," the Captain said.

"Well, I was wondering- if together they make up one of the major powers in the galaxy, then that means that they all have interstellar capabilities, right?"

"Yes," Sheridan said cautiously. "No single League member is capable of putting up much of a fight against one of the other major powers, but together they're pretty formidable. They've all made contact with other races, and can build ships that can at least use the Jumpgate System. It's what allows them to participate in interstellar trade."

"That's incredible," Macintyre said. "Most of those species back home are on the TA's protected planets list. Only the Brakiri have even made it as far as the industrial revolution, and from the looks of things, it'll be another three or four hundred years before they make it to space. And I've never even heard of the Vree."

The Babylon 5 representatives were all shocked by the revelation, but before any of them could speak, Commander Montoya took on a grave look and said, "I have."

"The Vree homeworld is a dead planet," he said somberly. "We found it 125 years ago. The entire planet is devoid of resources, making it uninhabitable. There are ruins there, however. From what we've been able to piece together, the Vree were slightly more advanced than we are today. They developed a fully sentient computer system- a true A.I., and began building them into the Von Neumann machines that still plague the galaxy. The goal was apparently to use the ships as an automated resource collector in distant star systems. Somewhere along the line, the A.I.'s rebelled, and destroyed their creators, sucking the planet dry and using the resources to build more of themselves. We don't know what happened to their colonies, or if they even had any, since we've never discovered any other Vree remains."

Ivanova, who had thus far remained silent, now spoke up.

"That's all very interesting," she said, "and I'm sure we'd like to go into more detail later, but for the moment I'm still interested in learning more about our Kosh impersonator back there."

The Black sang a few notes, and Commander Montoya nodded.

"The Black has asked me to translate for him, as it will make things go faster, and since you folks don't seem to like the Liir's telepathic abilities too much," he said.

"That would be an understatement," Ivanova commented under her breath, earning a glare from both Sheridan and Montoya.

Montoya said, "I'm not sure what's brought you to think such things, so after the elder is finished with his briefing, I'll tell you a few things about myself. Hopefully it will put your mind at ease about Liirian song."

The Black positioned himself so that the visor where his eyes would be was facing Sheridan and Delenn. Then he began singing, the clicks, whistles, squeaks, and smooth tones blending together in a way that was both pleasing to the ear, and unmistakable as a sentient language.

Montoya translated, "150 years ago by our reckoning, we Liir were a peaceful race. Our technology was sparse, for our need was little, and the waters of Muur provided all that we needed. According to the Humans, we were a Bronze Age people. That all changed when the Suul'ka came.

"We never learned their true name, nor do we care what they called themselves. They were the enemy, the Suul'ka. They enslaved the Liir, and forced us through our industrial revolution, setting up underwater mines and foundries. When they discovered that we used telekinesis to manipulate things in our world, they stopped using the foundries themselves, and forced us to do so. Millions died in the seventy five years of Suul'ka occupation.

"Understand that Liir do not usually die as we did in our bondage. We live long; as long as food is available in sufficient quantities to sustain us, we go on. We never quit growing, so a Liir's age is roughly equivalent to its size. Under the Suul'ka there was no distinction of class or age, and elders, whom we loath to allow into dangerous situations, were forced to work in the same camps that killed most of us. The Suul'ka reasoned that because the elders were stronger in mind, they could be used to build faster, and to lift heavier portions further above the surface of the sea.

"There was little we could do, for we could not best our captors through technological strength. We did, however, understand their physiologies better than they did. We used that to our advantage. In secret, we used the very labs that they forced us to build to create a virus that would harm only Suul'ka, leaving Liir untouched. I myself released the virus into one of their air domes. I was very young at the time, and was being used as an aid to one of their overseers. I was punished for my clumsiness in dropping a glass vial, but the Suul'ka did not suspect that they had been infected with a virus.

"Within two weeks every Suul'ka on Muur was dying. In a month we were free. The enemy had not had time to destroy even a portion of what had been built, and so we began learning, for we are a curious species. We learned the secret of space travel, and we learned of their experiments with teleportation, and managed to complete some of it. It is how we developed our stutter warp engines, which power all Liir ships.

"We learned to build the enemy's weapons, so that we may use it when we found them among the stars. We also developed the liquid oxygen medium that allows our Black Swimmers to drown and yet live among the stars, even as I am now drowned. Those of us who chose to swim in the black sea did so to protect the peaceful Liir still on Muur, and the colonists who now inhabit much of our arm of the galaxy.

"We went forth in search of the Suul'ka, so that we might ensure that they never return. We found some of their bases and ships, but all were dead. Our disease had spread further than we had ever thought possible, and we now believe the Suul'ka who enslaved us are extinct. The Black Swimmers have kept this information from the living Liir, as it would cause our race much grief. For the Liir to be responsible for a race's extinction would be too much for many to bear; so the Black Swimmers, we who are already dead, take this responsibility for our own.

"Though we did not find the enemy we sought, we found others who would kill us. The Tarka sang of nothing but blood and death, and to protect those who do not wish to kill, we forced the scale-skins back. We also fought the insects that rained fire down on every world they crossed, that they might take it for their own. We also, for a time, made the mistake of fighting the defenders of life. The Humans have violent thoughts, but it is to be pitied, not feared, for they are not a violent race. It is their loneliness that makes Humans struggle to understand one another, and through misunderstanding, they make mistakes. Just as through our ignorance, Liir made the mistake of opening fire on them.

"We now have fixed our mistakes, and are learning to understand one another. It is sometimes difficult, as Humans cannot truly understand the glory of participating in the metachoir, and Liir cannot understand a life lived alone inside one's own mind. Humans can, however, understand the beauty of the Great Song, and now, because of the Gate that brought us to you, Liir can understand what it means to be 'alone'.

"The Avalon Project continues to bring our peoples closer together, and we who swim the Black Sea will ensure that none threaten the Great Song. That is all I have to say."

Commander Montoya finished a few moments after the song had finished, and the Humans and Minbari across the table sat in stunned silence. Even to Delenn, who was trained to think in patterns that were not natural to her, the Liir were _alien_. The logic was there, but it took effort to come to terms with it. Every one in the room was disgusted with the genocide of the race the Liir called the "Suul'ka", but it was understood that they had not meant for it to go as far as it did. It would take some getting used to, but the Liirian elder did seem to be telling the truth.

Before anyone could comment further, Montoya began speaking again.

"Now that you know the nature and history of the Liir," he said, "I think it is time that you understood a little about the nature of the alliance between the Terran Alliance and the Liir.

"Three years ago, when the alliance was still very fragile, the TA tried its first program designed to bring us closer together as allies. Up to that point, it had been mostly 'you stay on your side of the galaxy, and I'll stay on mine'. It was an exchange program. A few Terran ships were outfitted with airlocks and chambers for Liir, so that they could shed their landsuits when they were off-duty. It allowed the Liir to better understand the way Humans thought and acted. They were curious as to why we did things the way we did them.

"In exchange, a few Human soldiers were allowed to go to a Liir colony world. I was one of them. At the time, I had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as several chronic injuries that I had sustained over the course of my military career. On Liruuma I was allowed to dive with an elder. After a few hours, he asked the other young Liir around him to leave for the day. When we were alone, the elder told me he could feel a Battlesong in my thoughts, even though I tried to suppress it.

"I told him that I tried to keep my warrior mind hidden from the Liir, as I knew that they didn't appreciate it. The elder told me that he had heard three battlesongs from Black Swimmers who had returned to the sea. So I let him into my mind. He didn't force his way in, nor did he ask any verbal questions. He simply entered my thoughts and, for lack of a better term, let my memories wash over him. He linked his mind with mine, and I found myself telling him all about the experiences I'd had and the atrocities that I'd committed. He never asked questions, never pushed, never forced, and when I couldn't stand the pain any longer, he told me we would begin again tomorrow, whenever I was ready.

"We went on like that for all four months that I was there. I would begin the day swimming with the Liir around Elder Borrumo, learning their culture, and trying to play their games with them. I found out that Humans are notoriously bad players of something called 'hide the thought'. Then, at about fifteen hundred every day, he would send the younger Liir away, and we would talk.

"Apparently they were doing other things to me while I was there, too. I'm still not sure if it was the Elder or the others, or a combination of both, but when I returned to the fleet, the psychologists said I didn't have PTSD anymore, and the docs all said that I was 'disgustingly healthy'. Not one of the physical issues that I had going in was there when I came out, and I had learned to deal with the acts a soldier is required to commit. This is why I'm so comfortable with the Liir, as you call it, 'swimming around in my head'. I don't expect you to be as comfortable with it, but don't be so hostile. As a rule, the Liir mean no harm to anyone. I know that's a difficult concept to believe, but trust me. Whatever it is that their telepathy does to the way they think, they are truly a peaceful race."

Across the table, Ivanova and Sheridan looked utterly shocked and overwhelmed, and Delenn looked as though she had found a kindred spirit in the big alien. Garibaldi looked more suspicious than ever, and Doctor Franklin was nearly bursting at the seams with questions. About what, nobody knew, and Franklin himself probably couldn't have put words to some of them if he had tried.

Sheridan looked at Delenn, who simply nodded at something shared between them.

"Well, thank you for the information, Commander Montoya," he said, "and thank you, Mr., uhh…"

"The proper title would simply be 'elder' or 'eldest'," Montoya supplied.

"Yes, thank you, Commander," Sheridan said, relieved. "Thank you for your time, Elder."

"Now," he continued, "I need to go check out some new fighters we've received, and I'm sure everyone else has things that they also need to get done. If there's nothing else, this meeting is adjourned." With that, everyone stood up, and as Sheridan and Ivanova left, Delenn began speaking with Montoya, while Macintyre walked around the table to speak to Marcus and Lennier, and Franklin practically ran to the Black and began pestering him with questions. Garibaldi, for his part, went off to a corner and contented himself with watching everyone, especially the ginormous dolphin in the space suit…


	8. Chapter 8

**Docking Bay 27, Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 22****nd****, 2260**

**2345 hrs**

The Black drifted into the docking bay where his personal shuttle was docked. Dr. Franklin had prodded him with questions for what seemed like forever, and had finally run out of spur-of-the-moment questions a few minutes ago. The Black had sent his two bodyguards back to the shuttle ahead of him, assuring them that he would be fine. He had his personal weapon, in addition to the fact that he was one of the best martial artists in the Liirian navy.

So were his bodyguards, and that was why he had so much faith in them. Their dedication to learning how to manipulate things on close to a microscopic level was inspiring, and their willingness to learn how to use other races' technology was almost uncanny. They were the perfect selection for bodyguards since they would most likely have to leave their weapons behind in the near future. There wasn't as much honor in guarding the Black as there would be among other races, but in exchange for their service, the Black himself listened to their battlesongs, and made sure that they would one day be able to return to the seas of the living.

As the Black passed by a stack of crates, he became aware of a presence entering the docking bay and keeping to the shadows. He could hear the swirl of thoughts in its mind, but he couldn't see the life signs that always heralded a living, physical being, so he stopped and waited for it, intrigued. There was a strong sense of curiosity coming from the presence, and underlying it was a multitude of thoughts and emotions that were completely alien to the Black. There were so many thoughts, and so many layers to those thoughts, that the Black was absolutely certain that the approaching being was an elder of some kind.

The being approached, but stopped in the shadows, still well outside the range of Liirian eyesight, so the Black sang a single note to it, and received an image of a being unlike any he had ever encountered. He could hear the mechanical sounds produced by the suit he now saw, and thought it was very much like his own landsuit, but many of the sounds were redundant- only there to create the illusion of functioning equipment. Most of the true functions, as revealed by the single sonar note, were silent and seemed to be dedicated to the channeling of some kind of energy source rather than providing an internal atmosphere.

For a moment the two simply looked at each other, and then the alien began speaking in a pattern of song that the Black was unfamiliar with. The suit translated the song into Human Fleetsong, and said, "Who are you?"

On a telepathic sub-channel, almost outside of the Black's ability to hear, were also the thoughts, _What do you stand for/Why do you walk the stars?_

The question was strange, and the Black had never heard a question worded in that way. He did, however, know the answer to all three, and when combined, had a single answer, just as the question was a single thought.

The Black reached out with his consciousness and actively joined with the metachoir, such as it was in this area. He joined with his two bodyguards aboard the shuttle, and with the crew of the Liirian cruiser _Burning Sun, _which was cloaked outside, guarding the _Solaris_. With his mind connected to these Liir, he amplified their thoughts into a distinct background gestalt, and overlaid it with his answer: _We are Liir (Black Swimmers/many voices/protect the innocent/guard the young/let others live free)._

The single "eye" in the being's helmet quickly irised completely open, mimicking the surprise that it transmitted telepathically. The emotion was quickly squelched, but the Black had managed to catch a piece of it.

The Black then repeated the alien's question, just as it had been asked of him.

_Who are you/What do you stand for/Why do you swim the Black Sea?_

He was again rewarded with a brief moment of surprise, and then received his answer, just as he had answered. There was the touch of a multitude of sentient minds, all linked together, and from within this gestalt came the voice of the individual before him.

It said, _Kosh (Ancient wisdom/teach the younger/guard the younger/bring order to chaos)._

The Black thought about the answer for a moment, and then said, _I do not believe that you need that suit as I need mine. Let us go to my shuttle, shed these crude trappings, and… talk._

Kosh moved forward, the motion a seemingly awkward mimic of the land-dwellers' walking, and said, _Agreed._

**Zocalo, Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 23, 2260**

**0758 hrs**

Richard Montoya was technically "off-duty", but he was still representing the Alliance, and therefore he was still keeping a close eye on what was going on. Information was one of the most powerful tools in existence, no matter what universe you were from, and Montoya had a feeling that something very important was about to happen. The area of the station called the "Zocalo" was buzzing with activity, even for a marketplace. He'd caught several snippets of conversation just from walking around, and been able to piece together that a news service called "ISN" was coming back on the air that morning, but what world organized it, and why it had gone off the air was still a mystery.

He walked up to a nearby bar as the time approached for the broadcast, and noticed several members of the command staff walking into the area as well. As the program started, Commander Ivanova, Doctor Franklin and Chief Garibaldi all found a place to stand near Montoya. He maneuvered until he was well within earshot of the three officers, even though they hadn't yet noticed him. He wanted to hear their reactions, and he had a feeling that he would get more information out of their responses than others.

The Human reporter started by saying that ISN was finally back on the air, and Montoya was startled as a cheer rang through the Zocalo. It seemed that this was an important news station. Soon, however, as the reporter went into the details behind the news blackout, the response was less jovial. Several people looked confused as the woman on screen spoke of anti-government militants storming the broadcast station and spreading misinformation. Ivanova, on the other hand, looked utterly sickened.

Finally Doctor Franklin said, "Turn it off."

As the crowd started to disperse, Montoya moved up alongside the officers and caught their attention.

"What was that all about?" he asked. Ivanova pulled a face.

"What, that?" she said. "Only the biggest load of bull I've heard in a long time."

Garibaldi elaborated, "A couple of months ago there was an attempted coup in Geneva. President Clark started making all kinds of radical changes in the government, and finally went too far when he declared martial law. Fighting broke out among the military. Those who recognized several of their orders as illegal refused to obey, and Clark's supporters used deadly force to try and get them to back down."

Franklin continued, "During the fighting, ISN was attacked by forces loyal to the President, contrary to what you just heard. They took the building by force, and pulled the plug during a live news feed. Maybe the folks back home are buying it- who knows what they've been fed on the local news since then. People around here, however, remember what happened."

"I see," Montoya said. "Which side did Babylon 5 take?"

"I think that's pretty obvious," Ivanova said. "The Captain remained neutral for as long as possible, but when Clark's forces started bombing civilian targets, he officially declared Babylon 5 as an independent state. He…"

The small device on the back of Ivanova's hand beeped, and she spoke into it briefly. The ambient noise in the Zocalo was too loud for Montoya to hear both sides of the conversation, but finally Ivanova said, "We'll be right there."

"Well, Commander," she said, looking up at Montoya, "it's been lovely chatting with you, but I'm afraid we're needed elsewhere."

"I understand," Montoya said. "Perhaps we can continue this later."

Turning to her companions, Ivanova said, "Something's come up."

Together, the three members of the command staff left the Zocalo, leaving Montoya to ponder the events of the morning.

**Docking Bay 15, Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 23, 2260**

**1045 hrs**

Alfred Bester was content for the moment. Everything was going according to plan. He had convinced Captain Sheridan to take him into hyperspace to intercept the enemy "weapons components" that was being shipped from Earth space. If things kept going as they were, they would make their rendezvous with the transport with time to spare. Not only that, but he was going to get to see the inside of the ship that the Minbari had been building in secret. He had only heard rumors, but it was supposed to be very impressive.

At the moment he was in docking bay 15, overseeing the loading of supplies they would need on the trip. It wasn't a long journey, so the supplies would only take one shuttle trip. Then he, the Captain, and the rest of the command crew would board and they would be on their way. Of course, Bester's very presence during the loading process was slowing things down, and he knew it, but he wanted to see what kind of things were being loaded on an alien warship. Things like consumables such as food, water and air were mundane, and he really had no interest in it. Rather, he was using all of his senses to try to see the things that the Captain and the Minbari ambassador wouldn't want him to see. Things like small arms, pistols, and other safety precautions like fire and damage control equipment. Any advanced technology among the replacement parts being loaded aboard, that sort of thing.

He'd have to memorize the look of any advanced technology he did see, since he certainly wouldn't be able to get his hands on any of it. That's what the fifteen armed guards at his back were there to make sure of, compliments of Mr. Garibaldi.

As he watched the ordered chaos all around him, he became aware of another individual watching the process. It was a shadow hidden among some crates to his left. He couldn't see much of it, but he could tell by the size and shape that it wasn't human. It also wasn't like any silhouette that he had ever memorized. Not that he had memorized the silhouette of every species in the known galaxy, but he could recognize several.

Curious, Bester reached out with his mind, certain that whoever or whatever it was wouldn't be able to detect a scan from a Human P-12 telepath.

He was surprised when not only did the creature detect the scan, but it actively and successfully blocked him. That didn't usually happen. Psi Cops like Bester were naturally very gifted telepaths, and their training made certain that they could use their gifts to their greatest advantage.

He pushed again, harder this time, and was again blocked. This time, however, a voice reached out and entered his own mind. It wasn't a scan, so he didn't even bother trying put up any extra defenses.

The voice, which Bester was fairly certain came from the alien, said, _It's not polite to poke people._

Bester ignored the voice and tried again, trying to force his way past the alien's mental barriers, as the Psi Corps had taught him. He wanted to know why this alien was here, observing what was supposed to be an undercover operation. He also wanted to know how it had blocked a scan from a Psi Cop.

The barrier was still too strong for him to finesse his way around. The alien spoke again, and this time it sounded angry.

_Stop poking me!_ It said. Bester was fairly certain it was male, though he wasn't sure how the alien managed to convey that particular gender sense.

Now he was getting angry himself. No one barred Psi-cops from going wherever they wanted to go, "for the good of Earth." He wasn't used to anyone even being able to block his scans.

He waited a few minutes, until loading was nearly complete, and he was sure that the alien's attention was elsewhere. Then he attacked, an outright, brute force attack that only Psi Cops even knew were possible. He broke through the distracted alien's defense easily, and he heard a telepathic squeal of outrage. He was shocked, however, when he encountered a second line of defense just below the first. This wasn't abnormal in and of itself, but successive layers of defenses were typically weaker, just there to make sure that any holes in the first layer were covered. This creature's defenses seemed to get stronger as he got deeper.

Bester pushed again, even though he knew that he had lost the element of surprise, and battered through the second line of defense, only to be stopped dead at a third mental block, stronger than the other two put together. By then the alien had gathered its focus and counter-attacked.

_Jabby! Jabby! Jab!Jab!Jab! _Each mental shout was accompanied by bursts of white-hot pain erupting just behind Bester's eyes.

Outwardly, Bester blinked hard and brought a hand to his head. One of his guards to notice and commented on it.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Just fine," Bester replied. "Just got a sudden headache, that's all."

Bester turned to leave the bay as the shuttle got ready to depart, and he shot one more glance towards the alien hiding in the shadows. It was odd, but the alien reached out and initiated contact with him. He expected another assault, but all he received was a vague impression of childish smugness. Shaking his head slightly to clear the lingering pain, Bester left the docking bay.

**Docking Bay 15, Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 23, 2260**

**1115 hrs**

John Sheridan was just entering the docking bay to board the shuttle. Ivanova was already aboard the _White Star_, having gone over with the supplies, and Bester was waiting for him on the shuttle, no doubt eager to be on his way. There were a couple other crew members going on this trip over, and then they'd be ready to go.

He was half way across the bay when a six foot long figure emerged from the crates to his left. Sheridan recognized this being as one of the Black's body guards. He wondered just how old this one must be, considering what the Black said in the briefing, about Liir continuously growing throughout their lives.

The Liir approached him, and its voice floated across the surface of his awareness.

_Captain, I… eep!_

The contact immediately broke off, and the Liir began clicking and whistling frantically, then stopped at his blank expression. Its left flipper twitched in what John could only guess was a nervous gesture, and then it began clicking again. Again it stopped, and Sheridan could feel it beginning to touch his mind again, and then cutting the contact abruptly.

Frustration rolled off of the Liir, even without the telepathic projection of the emotion, which it didn't seem to realize it was doing. John couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the predicament, and couldn't hardly believe the words that were about to come out of his own mouth.

"Go ahead and speak to me however you need, as long as I have your word that you won't go digging around in my head," he said. The Liir made an emphatic gesture that Sheridan to be assent.

_Gratitude,_ it sent. _I am called Briishiibi (water flowing over the body in a burst of speed), personal bodyguard to the Black. He noticed a ship being prepared for a journey outside, and sent me to investigate the increased activity in this docking bay. When I discovered that Commander Ivanova was going on the ship, the Black concluded that it must be a mission of some kind, and that she would most likely be traveling in the 'hyperspace' that your peoples use as a method of interstellar travel. The Black is interested in the concept of using an alternate dimension for star travel, and wants to know more about it. Therefore, he requests that I be sent along as an observer, as I am the smallest of us, and most likely to fit comfortably on the ship without disrupting the crew's ability to operate it._

Sheridan balked.

"I really don't think that's going to be possible," he said. "The circumstances and details of this mission are classified. Furthermore I-"

Briishiibi cut him off.

_Captain, I have been given specific instructions not to interfere or report on the nature or outcome of the mission. The Black has stated that it is not Liir business, but this hyperspace thing may be. That is why Commander Montoya is not here to translate for me. The Humans we are allied with would feel that it is their business to involve themselves with whatever is going on, and we feel that such a thing would be detrimental to our mission here. Besides, if the Black really wanted to know what was going on, he would have simply ordered me to play a game of hide the thought with the human dressed in black. He's not a nice person._

Sheridan considered that for a moment. While he wouldn't mind seeing Bester beaten at his own game, this was still sensitive information on a highly classified mission. Still, as long as certain precautions were taken, he supposed that the alien ambassador's request could be met, at least in part.

"Very well," Sheridan said at length. "On one condition: You don't set one foot… or whatever… on the bridge at any time. You'll go where we tell you, and when, and we have Mr. Bester make sure that you don't scan anyone on the ship. Period."

_That is agreeable. As long as this 'Bester' person doesn't try to poke me again, we won't have any problem._

Sheridan was confused at that last part, but figured that it didn't matter. He made the arrangements for Briishiibi to be brought over to the _White Star_, and then made the trip himself.

**Docking Bay, Minbari prototype vessel **_**White Star**_

**Epsilon Eridani system**

**September 23, 2260**

**1122 hrs**

Sheridan stepped aboard the _White Star _and walked up to Ivanova immediately.

"We've got a guest coming along for the ride," he said. "It's one of the Liir. He's agreed to stay off the bridge, in return for a first-hand hyperspace experience. I want you to put him in the overflow crew quarters and keep a four man guard on him at all times. This is a risky enough mission as it is, and I don't need a rampaging alien dolphin on my ship."

"Yes, sir," Ivanova said. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Granted," Sheridan said.

"With respect, sir, if you don't need the added risk as you said, then why are you letting him on board in the first place?"

The Captain grunted.

"The request was reasonable, and he acquiesced to all of my conditions. He already knew that there was something going on, and didn't seem to care what it was. What else was I supposed to do? Besides that, if Bester turns out to be lying, it'd be handy to have another telepath on hand. Especially if these Liir are as good with telekinesis as they say they are."

"And if it does go bonkers?" Ivanova asked.

"Shoot him, and then space him," Sheridan replied. Then he walked off, leaving Ivanova smirking with morbid humor.


	9. Chapter 9

**Minbari Prototype vessel **_**White Star**_

**Hyperspace, Sector 800**

**September 23, 2260**

**2220 hrs**

Briishiibi (water flowing over the body in a burst of speed) was almost in bliss. He was practically a prisoner, being held in a small room filled with odd, slanted tables at regular intervals. There were four guards of a species he recognized only by their vague resemblance to Ambassador Delenn, and they watched him with perceptive, unwavering gazes. They were also comfortable with his method of speech, at least compared to the humans of this dimension. He asked them questions, and as long as they were about general topics, they answered. Still, Briishiibi (water flowing over the body in a burst of speed) was happy. This "hyperspace" thing was incredible. He didn't know what it looked like outside, exactly, but he didn't really care, either. His mission was to find out what it was like from a Liir perspective, and that was exactly what he was doing. It was incredible to think that they were traveling hundreds, maybe even thousands, of light years with each passing minute.

Even more exciting than that, however, was the potential for hyperspace. The moment the ship had entered the sub-dimension, it was as if his eyes had finally been opened. He could sense everyone on board without even trying, and he even had to consciously keep himself from gleaning what they were all thinking. Not only that, but it was almost as if he could actually _feel_ the space around the ship. It wasn't anything like normal space, where the only thing a telepath could feel was vacuum and any beings in close proximity. He could actually sense the forces at work in the strange realm. He decided that it must be all the gravitational forces that his guards had told him about, but they felt almost like the caress of waves back home in the living seas. It made him slightly homesick, but it was fascinating. He even made the delightful discovery that if he concentrated, he could tune out all the other life forms aboard the ship and pretend that he was swimming in the oceans back home. He was certain that the Black would be happy with the information he was gathering.

At the moment, the _White Star _was approaching another refuge of sentient minds. Briishiibi (water flowing over the body in a burst of speed) figured that it was another ship, and they would be within sensor range in a few minutes, though he had been monitoring them for almost ten minutes now. It was amazing how far he could see into the void in hyperspace!

**Minbari Prototype vessel **_**White Star**_**, Bridge**

**Meanwhile…**

The Minbari design sense was certainly… different. Bester couldn't fathom why anyone would design a bridge with so much open space, and all the consoles so far away from each other. Still, it did have a certain aesthetic appeal, and everything appeared functional, and very advanced.

He was concerning himself with double tasks at the moment. First, he was keeping an open mind for the ship that they were hunting. The extended range that hyperspace granted to his abilities were certainly coming in handy, even though at the moment all he could sense out in the void was the _White Star's_ inhabitants, including the strange being that had assaulted him earlier. He would bring Captain Sheridan to task on that soon enough, but it would be prudent to maintain that air of ignorance until the time was right. Information, after all, could be a most powerful bargaining chip. Of course, all of these thoughts and actions were second-nature to a Psi Cop, and Bester's conscious mind would quickly have become bored without something else to concentrate on.

To remedy that, Bester was keeping his conscious mind occupied with his second objective: learning about and observing the _White Star._ He was memorizing the layout, what controls seemed to do what, as well as the ship's capabilities. He wanted to know how efficient the inertial dampeners were, and therefore what kind of turning radius the ship could have. He kept a close eye on the displays at each station, as well. He couldn't read the Minbari language, but he had learned to discern their graphs and power curve information. If he could learn enough about the Minbari prototype, then there might be a chance of making a working analogue. Better yet, if he could discern any weaknesses in the design or abilities, then there might actually be a chance for the Psi Corps to successfully capture the ship intact. That would greatly improve Bester's chances of achieving his ambitions.

Naturally, this was all in the future. First he had to get these "Shadows" off of Earth and out of the Psi Corps. As long as they were pulling strings, all other plans had to be set aside. Surprisingly enough, Sheridan and his rogue space station were the ideal candidates for helping him with his fight against these aliens. Since Bester needed Sheridan far more than the Captain needed him at the moment, he would behave.

_That doesn't mean I can't be obnoxious, however_, Bester thought as he sat down in Sheridan's command chair.

As soon as the Captain noticed this, he casually walked up beside Bester and rested his arm on the rail beside the chair.

"Mr. Bester…" he said.

"Captain Sheridan…" Bester replied, using the same tone of voice.

Sheridan's charade of civility dropped into a mask of annoyance.

"Get the hell out of my chair!" the Captain ordered.

Bester casually stood up and walked away; pleased with the rise he had gotten out of the good captain. Then he paused as he felt the presence of a hundred or so beings floating in the void in front of them. In normal space he would never have felt them this far out, but in hyperspace…

He held up his hand, and when he was sure he had the Captain's attention, he quietly said, "They're here."

**Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 23, 2260**

**2245 hrs**

Delenn was not looking forward to this meeting. G'kar had done everything he had promised to do, and had saved the entire station through his intervention when Sheridan had seceded from Earth. Now, however, she would have to tell him the awful truth about the Shadows, the Grey Council's decision, and her silence when the Centauri bombed Narn. She would have to tell him everything. It would not be easy, but it had to be done if he was to become part of the new war council.

She knew, as Sheridan did, that G'kar could be a powerful ally. He was resourceful, willful, and had an unerring system of morals, when viewed from the proper disposition. He would do anything for his people, no matter what had to be done. He was a skilled warrior, as well as a shrewd diplomat. In fact, his only real fault was his quick temper, and that was what made this meeting so dangerous. If Delenn did not choose her words carefully, then it was entirely possible that G'kar would do her bodily harm in his momentary rage and just anguish. He may even kill her. Still, when she weighed the risks against the potential benefits, it was worth it. More than that, it was the right thing to do. That still didn't make it any less difficult or frightening, especially with Lennier gone with Sheridan on the _White Star_.

The door chime rang, and Delenn softly said, "Enter," knowing the computer would pick up her voice and acknowledge the command.

The door opened, and Delenn knew without turning that he had entered.

"Hello, G'kar…"

**Minbari Prototype vessel **_**White Star**_

**Hyperspace, Sector 800**

**September 23, 2260**

**2250 hrs**

"25 degrees to port. Lock weapons on the nearest escort and fire when ready," Sheridan ordered, watching the tactical display at the front of the bridge. There were six fighters escorting the transport carrying the weapons components Bester had described. Surprisingly enough, the shifty Psi Cop had been telling the truth. The fighter escort was entirely comprised of Shadow fighters, even though the transport was made by a younger race.

The nimble ship came about and fired on a nearby fighter. The ship burst into pieces as the advanced weapons systems aboard the _White Star _overloaded its meager energy dispersion capabilities. Then the Minbari ship adjusted course to aggressively pursue the next escort ship.

The battle did not last long. Any fire from the Shadow fighters that actually managed to hit the small warship was easily shrugged off and dealt with by the automatic repair systems. Then the _White Star _moved to intercept the transport ship as it made a futile attempt at escape.

**Meanwhile, in the overflow crew quarters…**

Briishiibi (water flowing over the body in a burst of speed) was fighting a battle of his own. One of the Suul'ka's ships was in the vicinity! That would not be allowed to stand! The Liir was all too aware of what this enemy was capable of doing to his kind, and he knew the body count that was already on their unclean consciences.

Briishiibi (water flowing over the body in a burst of speed) also knew that this particular alien ship was going to attack if it managed to get a clear shot without harming the other vessel out in the void. Why he didn't know or care, but he would not let it happen if he could help it. The young black swimmer hid his presence from the black monstrosity outside until it had come up next to the _White Star_ and was almost in position to fire.

Then, with all the grace and power of a member of a telepathic species, backed by the enhanced telepathic strength of hyperspace, Briishiibi (water flowing over the body in a burst of speed) assaulted the one mind aboard the alien ship. Whatever species it was a part of, it had little to no telepathic defenses, and the attacking Liir found his way into its consciousness with surprising ease. He swam in its mind, twisting and turning through dark thoughts and darker memories, learning the ship's orders, for the creature, in a sense, _was_ the ship. He learned what the transport was carrying, and what the enemy's plans were for the unconscious humans aboard. More important than that, however, was _why_. The enemy was vulnerable to telepathic signals! Even now, Briishiibi (water flowing over the body in a burst of speed) could feel the ship stalling in space, poised at the very moment of attack.

Thinking quickly, the young Liirian bodyguard used the creature's mind to access and shut down the ship's weapons systems. Then he gave it a savage push away from the _White Star_ and withdrew from its mind, though he still kept a close mental eye on it, should it decide to turn around and try to engage anyway. Distantly, he was also aware of the human telepath onboard making his own clumsy, juvenile probes of the alien's mind, but Briishiibi (water flowing over the body in a burst of speed) was uncertain as to how successful he was.

**Docking Bay 15, Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 24, 2260**

**1123 hrs**

Sheridan still couldn't get over how anyone could kill themselves in such a way, and from the look on Dr. Franklin's face, neither could he. The acid compound they had found all over the transport ship's command deck was messy, and made sure that little could be gleaned from the pilot's remains, but it couldn't have been a pleasant way to die. A PPG to the head would have been preferable for most sentients.

Still, it was what it was. Everything about this mission was coming up odd. Immediately after they arrived Sheridan had seen the Liirian observer, Briishiibi, disappear into the shadows behind some packing crates, no doubt on his way to make his report. Still, he had departed with no last words to any of the crew, no questions about whether or not the mission had been successful, nothing.

Then there was Bester. The Psi Cop was pacing like a caged animal all the way back. He had become sullen and determined, more so than John had ever seen him. He didn't speak to anybody except to ask how long it would be to get back to Babylon 5, and whenever anyone questioned him about it, he had claimed to merely be excited that the mission was successful. It was a blatant lie, and not of Bester's usual caliber.

The Captain was shaken out of his musings as Ivanova walked around a corner. Close behind her was the sound of rolling wheels, probably part of the cargo they had captured.

Sheridan asked, "Well, was Bester right? Were there weapons on board?"

"That depends on how you define 'weapons'," she replied.

She walked over to the large, tarp-covered object that was being wheeled behind her and pulled the covering part way off. Beneath it was something John Sheridan knew would haunt him for a long time to come.

Even more unnerving than the frozen human in the tube, however, was the logo proudly displayed in the corner of the glass.

"Psi Corps…," Sheridan said, aghast. "These are telepaths!"

**Liir Ambassadorial Shuttle, Docking Bay 27, Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 24, 2260**

**1130 hrs**

Briishiibi (water flowing over the body in a burst of speed) finished cycling through the airlock and gratefully shed his landsuit. He was comfortable enough in it, as he had spent a great deal of time training in non-aquatic environments, but it was still confining, and no one enjoyed wearing them for extended periods of time.

Once he had finished removing the suit he went directly to the Blacks private onboard office. The shuttle was small, but as it was specially made for an ambassador it was unarmed, and the space normally dedicated to weapons and targeting computers was retasked as an office of sorts.

_What song have you heard? _The Black asked when Briishiibi (water flowing over the body in a burst of speed) entered.

_Elder, _the bodyguard replied, _I have seen many wonders this day. The hyperspace used by the peoples of this universe is amazing! _

At this point the young Liir stopped speaking with words of any kind, and instead linked his mind with that of his superior and shared the experience of flying in hyperspace. The memories, sensations, and emotions wash over the Black as if they were his own.

_Incredible! _The Black said. _Such a thing would be useful in tactical combat, and even as simply a therapy for Swimmers preparing to return to the Living Waters! You have done well_, _Briishiibi (water flowing over the body in a burst of speed). _

The praise elated the younger Liir, and he rolled in a full circle in his excitement. Then he became serious once more.

_There is more, Elder, _he said. _I have learned much about our new enemy. They fear all who speak with their minds, as we do, and their technology is susceptible to it as well. I believe we may have a great inborn advantage in the coming struggle._

The Black considered for a moment, and then said, _This may be true, but we must remember not to underestimate the Suul'ka. Our telepathic rage cannot reach over great distances, and their weapons are very powerful. The Steel Singers back in our home universe are already working on the problem, but it will take time. Until then we must proceed with caution. Tell me more of these 'Shadows'._

Briishiibi (water flowing over the body in a burst of speed) spent the next hour discussing the Shadows' abilities when confronted with telepaths, and then the Black called a halt.

_Enough, _he said. _We have seen evidence of most of what you say, but we cannot afford to assume anything based on the few times we have engaged the enemy. Let us go and discuss events with Commander Montoya._

**Near Medlab 1, Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 24, 2260**

**1315 hrs**

Lieutenant Commander Alexis Macintyre was completely, hopelessly, and utterly lost. Commander Montoya had instructed her to walk around the station and learn what she could. They had been here for several days already, and still knew next to nothing about this universe. Thus, everyone the _Solaris_ could spare was being given shore leave on the condition that they keep their eyes and ears open for any information concerning the Shadows.

It had started out fine. In civilian attire that was close enough to the local humans' that she fit in, Alexis had easily mixed in with the local population in a place they called the "Zocalo", whatever that stood for. It was a kind of marketplace, and she had managed to satisfy many of the desires she had had for a while now. She didn't have any local currency, but that didn't matter. She was familiar with many of the cultures protected by the Terran Alliance, and spoke many of the languages, but had never gotten to actually immerse herself in any of them. She was pleased to see so many familiar species represented on this station. It made things easier, and allowed her to practice some of the more fun languages and cultures.

Then, after a while, it got complicated. She had been talking with a surprisingly intelligent and docile Drazi about the current events, on the premise that she had been exploring the outer rim, and was aboard the station on business, and wanted to get caught up. She hadn't been paying attention to where they were going, and after they had parted ways, she looked up and realized that she didn't know where she was or how to get back to the Zocalo. They had taken several transport tubes in their wanderings, and she hadn't seen any station directories in the ten minutes that she had been walking alone.

Suddenly, she heard a scream and alarm klaxons began sounding. Training kicked in, and she ran in the direction of the scream.

Alexis arrived outside what looked like a medical facility just as several individuals approached from the opposite direction. Among them she recognized Warrant Officer Garibaldi and Doctor Franklin. While Franklin spoke with a medical technician who'd been standing outside, Garibaldi addressed her.

"Commander Macintyre, what are you doing here?" he asked tightly.

She replied, "I heard a scream, sir. How can I help?"

As Franklin opened the door to the medlab, Garibaldi considered for a moment, and then said, "Alright, come on. Stick close."

The other person, dressed all in black, entered with them as well. Inside, Macintyre found a metal bar that had broken off from somewhere. It was roughly two and a half feet long, and very stout. She picked it up, figuring any weapon was better than none. Garibaldi and the Doctor both grabbed emergency flashlights from shelves near the door.

Cautiously, the group moved into the room, keeping alert for whatever had gone wrong. As they rounded a particularly large station that stretched from floor to ceiling, Garibaldi stopped and motioned for the others. As they turned the corner, each of them stopped and stared. Macintyre was last in line, but when she finally saw what had happened, she understood what captivated the others. There, hanging suspended from the ceiling, was a woman wrapped in exposed wires, circuitry, and other electronic hardware. In some areas it was difficult to tell where the machines stopped and the woman started.

Tearing her eyes from the spectacle, Macintyre looked to Garibaldi for instructions. He still stood there entranced, but the man next to him caught her eye. She didn't know his name and had never seen him before, but the look of horror on his face was universal. In that moment it was clear to Macintyre that whoever this man in black was, he knew the woman hanging in front of them.

The woman spoke, and Franklin attempted to open a dialogue with her. She was delirious, however, and spoke only to the man next to Garibaldi. She called him "Alfred", and asked for his help. As soon as he stepped out of shadow, however, her entire demeanor changed. Her expression became one of rage, and she raised her hands, fingers outstretched. Garibaldi pulled Alfred behind the lab station and Franklin took cover near the wall to the left, while Alexis dove over the computer console at her back.

No sooner were they behind cover than several bolts of electrical discharges lanced out at them, most of which were somehow directed at Garibaldi's position. After a moment the woman spoke again, talking about pain and some sort of 'sign'. Alfred was the most shaken by the attack, however.

"There's no reason for her to do this, or attack me," he said. "Why is she doing this?"

Macintyre almost scoffed. What reason does a delirious, machine enhanced woman need to attack anyone?

Finally Garibaldi figured it out, and asked Alfred for the pin he wore on his chest. Macintyre recognized it as the Greek character Psi, though what significance it carried she couldn't tell.

She understood a few seconds later, however, that it was what had set off the woman in front of them. As soon as the security chief threw the pin out in the open she attacked again, scorching the pin and blasting a divot into the metal of the floor.

Eventually Franklin was able to get close enough to her to inject a sedative, and seconds after that she was asleep.

Once the area was secured and he was certain the woman wasn't going to wake up, Garibaldi walked to the entrance with Alexis.

Turning to her, he said, "Thanks for your help back there, Commander. You didn't have to do that."

"No problem, Mr. Garibaldi," she replied. "If you ever need anything, within reason, just ask."

"Thanks again. Good day, Commander." With that, Garibaldi walked back towards the mess that was Medlab 1, and Macintyre was left to get directions back to the docking bays from a nearby technician.

**War Room, Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 24, 2260**

**1812 hrs**

Garibaldi sat in the War Room, his feet irreverently propped up on the table, waiting for the Captain and the others. On the table next to him sat G'kar's copy of the Book of G'quan, which he had loaned to Michael. The answer had been in there all along!

After listening to Caroline, the woman from medlab, talking about how Bester's Psi Corps logo had kept her from hearing "the machine", it had all made perfect sense. Coupled with the Narn holy text, it had all come together. It had just been a matter of finding the right passages.

The Shadows were afraid of telepaths! Somehow, whatever it was that telepaths did caused physical pain to Shadow technology, and maybe even to the Shadows themselves. Now that was a weapon to be used, if ever Garibaldi had heard of one. Now he just had to sell it to the others, and he doubted that it would be hard. It was the first thing that they had found that could possibly be used to really hurt the enemy.

Michael spent a few more minutes organizing his thoughts and tucking away the majority of his excitement as he waited for the others to arrive. When they did, however, he found that he just couldn't keep the grin off of his face!

**Deep Space**

**Brakiri Sovereign Territory**

**September 24, 2260**

**1800 hrs**

The Brakiri cargo transport convoy had been having an easy journey of late. No raiders, no pirates, not even technical malfunctions. They were on time, and could be expecting something extra out of this run. If only they knew.

The first anomaly showed up directly behind them. It read like a jump point, but something was different about it. Then others started to show up around the convoy. The black ships were enormous, and the purple beams that they fired sliced through the armor of the military escort ships like it wasn't even there. Then, despite cries of surrender, the alien warships opened fire on the defenseless civilian ships.

The captain of the last transport was able to get off a distress message before his ship was destroyed, as well…


	10. Chapter 10

**Near Alternate D-Gate, Terran Flagship **_**Sword of the Stars**_

**Reach Star System**

**September 25, 2260**

**1030 hrs**

Admiral Jack Remington stood on the bridge, listening to the reports come in from the system patrols and nearby system explorations. The enemy, these "Shadows" according to Commander Montoya's intel, had been attacking with surprising regularity. Now, however, the system was well defended enough that the last two attacks had barely been more than a nuisance. They had also retreated from the last engagement; a first since they had began attacking. Remington hoped that the withdrawal meant they would back off. The fleet could handle anything short of a major attack, but being constantly on guard was bad for morale.

Remington looked out of the viewport at the fore of the bridge. The Reach system was heavily defended now. There were already six heavy defense platforms stationed at key positions around the system, though none stretched further than .8 A.U.'s from the Gate itself. Each heavy platform was the heart of a battle cluster, supported by four medium and six light platforms. Most also had at least two cruisers for mobile support, but not all.

Eight Liir cruisers patrolled the outer border of the system under full cloak, and would only break radio silence if something happened. Closer in system was an entire light task force made up of mixed Human and Liirian ships, a true testament to the alliance's state.

The task force itself wasn't the best that Remington had seen, but it was sufficient for the moment. There were no destroyers in it, as they had proven woefully under equipped for fighting the Shadows, but they had made up for it with the presence of cruisers. The Admiral had managed to commandeer a full twenty two front-line cruisers, even though it meant taking them from other potentially important areas of Terran Alliance territory. The Black had truly outdone himself, though, by committing an unprecedented thirty five cruisers of varying types, including ship tenders and mobile refineries.

That had really made the construction effort go quickly. Remington had two ship tenders under his command, but their resources were limited, and their construction capabilities left something to be desired. With the added manpower (dolphin-power?) of the Liirian tenders, they had been able to continue constructing defense stations while working on the deep space shipyard. That was the pride of Remington's entire carrier. The TA's first self-contained deep space shipyard, able to work independent of any friendly colony-world, was capable of repairing or refitting two cruisers at once, one dreadnaught at a time, or constructing defense platforms. The only support it required was at least one refinery to collect resources from local planetary bodies or asteroids. Currently there were six refineries making collection runs from nearby systems, all under guard by cruiser formations.

It would have been seven, but the expedition to the nearby Sigma 957 system was currently down-checked. Every ship that had gone there so far had to be towed back, citing near complete power loss to all systems. The crews claimed that there was… something, out there. Reports varied, and no one actually got a good look at what it was. Some said an alien ship of unknown type, and others said it was some kind of exo-atmospheric electrical storm. Whatever happened out there, Remington wasn't taking any chances, and was having every ship gone over with a fine-toothed comb, and had ordered Sigma 957 off limits and marked as hazardous.

Then, to top off the defenses around Reach was the epitome of military force- two dreadnaughts. Both Remington's flagship, the _Sword of the Stars, _and the Black's _Stars of Muur_ were present, acting as close-in guards to the D-Gate itself. These were the largest, most powerful ships in the galaxy when it came to all around firepower. The Terran ship could pelt an enemy ship with projectiles ranging anywhere from the twenty five millimeter gauss cannon up to the twenty ton heavy driver rounds. The neutronium rounds it used ensured each round became an unstoppable mass of super dense material, while the magnetic transduction delivery system accelerated that round to a significant 2 PSL. Not to mention that the armor was made of top-of-the-line quark resonating alloys, meaning that it could take a pounding from the best the enemy could throw.

The Liirian dreadnaught wasn't as heavily armored, but what it lacked in thick skin, it more than made up for with teeth. The command dreadnaught had deadly meson beam weapons covering almost every inch of the thing, with backup laser point defense weapons placed at strategic points all over the hull, and eight of the most devastating weapons the Liir were willing to use: the cutting beams. Orbit-to-surface weapons that were capable of gouging huge swaths out of a planet's crust, and taking significant portions of major cities with it. Those weapons were feared the galaxy over, and were known to make short work of all but the most robust warships of any species. The accuracy wasn't great, but the sheer destruction wrought by a single second of exposure more than made up for it.

Admiral Remington swelled with pride as he looked out at the system under his command. He was shaken out of his musings, however, as a communication tech called his attention.

"Sir, we have an unknown contact just out of range of Battlecluster 2," the tech said.

"Get me a data uplink to that cluster and display a visual on holotank 1," Remington ordered.

"Aye, sir. Standby."

For a moment nothing happened, and then the primary tactical holographic display lit up. It showed deep space, along with a ship the likes of which Remington had never seen. The back end, or what he assumed to be the back end, resembled a giant mushroom, while the other end was covered in shifting colored lights centered around a single white light.

The comm then crackled to life.

"This is Captain Winslow, commander of Heavy Station Bravo. Sir, I have no idea what's going on out here."

"Take it easy, Captain," Remington said. "Just tell me what you've seen so far."

"Well, sir, about two minutes ago we noticed some kind of electrical storm start up just outside of firing field four. It played hell with all of our sensors, and we couldn't get much more than white noise for almost five seconds. When the interference cleared up, the ship was there. We've tried scanning it, but it's done no good. Whatever it is, it's absorbing everything we throw at it like water to a sponge."

"Has it tried to do anything yet?" Remington asked.

"No, sir. It… J… …" the comm channel dissolved into static.

"Captain? Captain Winslow, are you receiving?" Remington asked as he became more concerned. After a moment, the static cleared up.

Winslow again reported.

"Sorry, sir," he said, "the aliens scanned us. At least we think that's what happened. It knocked everything off line again. We still have firing control, but targeting systems are down. Manual controls work, and we've got optics pointed at the alien, but it's still just sitting there."

"Threat assessment?" Remington asked.

"Low, sir. I suspect they could have taken us out by now if they wanted to, but they haven't moved. We've tried hailing them, but we're not getting any response. I think they just want to see who's new in the neighborhood."

"Let's hope you're right, Captain. I…" the Admiral was cut off as the ship in the holograph started to re-orient itself, the colored side turning to face out-system. Then the picture abruptly turned to static. After a moment the picture returned, but the ship was gone.

"Captain, what happened?" Remington demanded.

The Captain spoke with obvious amazement.

"That thing just opened up the damnedest looking FTL drive I've ever seen!" he said. "That electrical storm came back, and the ship just jumped into it and disappeared! The interference tripped most of the circuits in the cluster. We're resetting now, and should be back online in a few moments."

Remington thought for a moment. Knowing that there wasn't much more that Captain Winslow could do at the moment, he said, "Very well, Captain. Keep me apprised of any new developments. Command out."

Turning to the comm tech, he ordered, "Get on the FTL Broadband and try and raise the _Solaris_. Tell Commander Montoya I've got new orders for him…"

**Captain's office, Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 25, 2260**

**1030 hrs**

Ambassador Taal stepped into Sheridan's office, looking as confused as she had when he had summoned her five minutes ago. The Hyach had no idea why she had been called here, but the Captain had seemed to think it was extremely important.

"Ah! Ambassador Taal, please come in and have a seat," Sheridan said when he looked up from his desk and saw her. "Trust me, after what I have to say, you'll need it."

"Captain," Taal said as she sat down, "I have only a partial idea of why I'm here. Perhaps you would care to enlighten me further?"

"In a moment," Sheridan replied. "You're aware of the meeting I've called for 1500?"

Taal immediately responded.

"Of course. Every race on the Babylon Charter has been asked to attend, and you've let it slip that it has something to do with these new aliens that the command staff has tried to keep so quiet. I can only assume that those aliens also have something to do with this meeting, but I have no idea what it is or why it can't wait to be discussed with the rest of the council."

Sheridan replied, "I'm getting to what it is, but the why is because I need your help."

"My help?" Taal asked incredulously.

"Yes," Sheridan said. "As I understand it, the Hyach are much more relaxed about telepaths than the other races. In fact you're even trying to make the telepathic gene more widespread among your people, is that correct?"

"Correct, Captain," Taal replied. "We see telepaths as the next stage in our evolution, and hope to speed up that process. In fact we hope that within the next one hundred years every member of our race will have some form of telepathic potential."

Sheridan nodded, and then began, "Nothing we speak of in this meeting can pass beyond these walls until after the meeting this afternoon. Are you comfortable with that?"

Taal considered for a moment, and then said, "I must say that I'm not particularly comfortable with secret meetings, but if your request is so dire, then I can abide by your conditions. How can I help?"

"As everyone knows," Sheridan said, "several days ago an unknown alien ship appeared and took up station outside of Babylon 5. What some of the League Races also know is that there were two distinctly different shuttles that departed from that ship. The rumors that you've no doubt heard by now are true up to that point- we've made contact with two very different races, and yes, we haven't introduced you to them yet. There's a very good reason for this. Any rumors you may have heard beyond that point are most likely false.

"One of the aliens is a powerful group of Humans with no ties to President Clarke or the rest of the Earth Alliance. I'm not worried about introducing them. I am, however, worried about the other group."

"How so?" Taal prodded, her curiosity piqued.

"Their entire race is telepathic. This is where you come in, Ambassador. When I introduce these two new groups this afternoon, it would be advantageous if I had another voice in the League who could speak for them- let everyone know that they mean no harm. Most of the other ambassadors are going to be outraged at the thought of having a telepath in the same room with them…"

"… And you would like me to be there to calm things down," Taal finished. "I am, in theory, willing to do such a thing, but I will not endorse a species that I know nothing about. Especially if they are all telepathic. I would not want to invite an immoral or violent race into the presence of the ambassadors if that individual can glean all of our secrets from us in less than a minute."

"I understand," Sheridan said. "That's why I've arranged for you to meet their representative. Garibaldi should be here with him any minute."

They spoke of other treaties and small or trivial issues while they waited for the alien representative to arrive. After a short while, Garibaldi appeared at the door to the office and addressed his superior.

"Captain," he said, "are you ready for him?"

Sheridan nodded and said, "Send him in."

As soon as Garibaldi left, Taal noticed a new presence within the room. She had been trained to recognize the presence of telepaths, and could tell when one was trying to scan her. She couldn't stop it, but there was a different feel to the room. Of course the other races had no idea that the Hyach were capable of such things, and that's the way they preferred to keep it. The presence that Taal felt now wasn't a scan of her, more like whatever was doing it just wanted to know what was in the room before it entered. Then the being itself appeared.

At first the Hyach Ambassador thought it was another like the Vorlons. It was large, and entirely encased in some kind of encounter suit. Then she realized that was where the similarities ended. There were several differences that told Taal that this being was less than the Vorlons, and maybe not even much more advanced than the Hyach. What those differences were, however, was beyond her. She recognized them on a subconscious level, but couldn't put a name to anything.

Sheridan made introductions.

"Ambassador Taal, this is the Black, a representative of a race that call themselves Liir. Elder, this is Ambassador Taal, of the Hyach," he said.

Taal hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I am pleased to meet you… Elder, is it?"

The alien made several clicking and whistling sounds, and Sheridan interceded, saying, "The Liir communicate vocally in a language we haven't translated yet, but they can convey the meanings of their words directly into your mind, if you'll allow it."

"Of course," Taal replied, with only a moment's hesitation.

Almost immediately, she felt a light brush against her consciousness. A warm feeling of gratitude accompanied it. Then the Black began clicking again, but this time Taal heard a voice both supremely masculine and undeniably feminine speaking to her in a mix of English words and understandable pictures and emotions.

_Thank you for accepting my nature, _the Black said. _I am honored to finally meet another of this galaxy's sentient races._

"The honor is mine, Elder," Taal said. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a few questions for you..."

The Hyach spent the next hour asking question after question. The Black was patient, often explaining things that she wanted clarified. Taal was impressed by the Liir. They were the culmination of what the Hyach hoped to become. Every member of their race was telepathic and telekinetic, and they respected life above all things. She especially liked their social structure. Like her people, the Liir respected age and wisdom above all things, and were lead by the eldest members of their race, who were considered old enough and wise enough to effectively lead their people into the future.

Finally, Taal sat back and thought for a moment. Then she turned to Sheridan.

"You were right to approach me first, Captain. I will endorse the Liir for you," she said. "It may calm their initial outrage, but," and here she turned to the Black, "do not expect them to accept you immediately, as I have. Most of the League races are very hostile towards telepaths, sometimes even those of their own race. They will not like the idea of allying themselves with an entire species who experience the Universe with their minds."

"Your help is all we ask for, Ambassador," Sheridan said.

_You are wise beyond your years, Ambassador, _the Black said. _It is good to know that we will have an ally to help us smooth the seas._

Taal smirked at that.

"Yes," she said, "let's just hope that these waters aren't so rough that we find ourselves drowning in our own good intentions.

"Now I think I must take my leave. I have a considerable number of things to think on before this afternoon's meeting. Good day, Captain, Elder."

Sheridan stood and bade her farewell, and the Black floated to the side, allowing her to pass. Once she had gone, the Captain turned to the other alien in the room.

"That could have gone worse," he said, smiling. "Let's hope that things work out even half as well this afternoon."

_Indeed, _the Black replied._ I shall return to my shuttle until it is time for the meeting._

"Alright," Sheridan said. "Mr. Garibaldi will make sure you get back safely."

With that, the large Liirian representative left the relatively tiny office.

**The Zocalo, Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 25, 2260**

**1100 hrs**

Commander Montoya sat at a seemingly randomly placed bar in the market-like atmosphere of the Zocalo. He, Sheridan, Delenn and Garibaldi had spent the early morning working out the currency exchange rates between the TA and the locals, so now he was enjoying himself even as he scoured the area for information.

His new orders had come in not fifteen minutes ago. The Admiral wanted him to get as much information on the new alien element they had encountered, and fast. Montoya could wait until after the council meeting coming up, but then anyone who knew anything would recognize him and instantly be on guard. This way he could ask questions as just another uninformed human, and no one would be the wiser.

He picked his first info mine a few seconds later as a being walked up and sat down beside him. It was a humanoid, probably male, and he was too overdressed to be anything but an important individual, in Montoya's opinion. Hopefully an ambassador of some kind. He had one unique characteristic, however, that Montoya couldn't help but stare at. The being's hair stood straight up! Compared to the hairstyle, his long, dark blue frock coat and pompous attitude was almost an afterthought.

The stranger noticed Montoya's gaze, and turned to him. He spoke with a strange accent, halted at strange points in each sentence, and put emphasis on seemingly random words, as if he were trying to lend greater weight to what he was saying just by the way he delivered the words.

"Yes, yes, what is it?" the stranger asked irritably. "You are _staring_ as if you had never seen a Centauri before."

"My apologies," Montoya said, recovering quickly, "I'm new here, and I haven't seen many of the non-humans up close before." He tried to look apologetic, though his hardened features made it somewhat difficult.

"Hmph! Well, stop it. The way you were staring at me, I thought you might be a Narn in disguise!" He turned back to the bar and ordered a drink.

"Again, my apologies," Montoya replied. "I'm sorry, sir, but as I said, I'm new here. May I have your name?"

The Centauri turned back to face him again, his face a mask of irritation and confusion.

"Where have you _been _for the past three years? Under a rock? I am Londo Mollari, ambassador to the Great Centauri Republic!"

Montoya half-smiled. He knew of the Centauri from his reality, but he wouldn't exactly call them 'great'. However, he felt it wouldn't be prudent to mention to the Ambassador that where he was from, the Centauri were little more than warring tribesmen.

Instead, he commented, "Sorry, I don't keep up with news or politics much. It's bad for digestion, you know."

Mollari laughed at that.

"That it is, Mr…"

"Montoya. Richard Montoya," the Commander said, smiling. "If you don't mind my asking, what had you so agitated?"

"Bah!" Londo exclaimed, immediately reverting to his earlier mood. "I have just been, rebuffed, by your –illustrious- Captain, ONCE AGAIN!

"We know that there are strange aliens, PARKED outside Babylon 5, and he KNOWS that we know; but does he tell us anything? No, that would be too easy! Instead he has to be so very Human, telling us that it's 'a matter of station security', and other such nonsense. They have been sitting out there for FIVE DAYS! Not shooting; not demanding our surrender; not telling us that we are doomed; they are sitting out there doing NOTHING!

"You know," he continued, wagging a finger at Montoya, "I think he is doing this on purpose! Trying to make us join this little 'alliance' of his by presenting us with something we know nothing about! I say this to you now, Mr. Montoya, it WILL NOT WORK!"

Mollari sighed then, and seemed to deflate.

"But whatever," he said. "Do you have any other annoying questions you would like to ask, Mr. Montoya?"

"Actually, Ambassador, there is one other thing," Montoya said. "You seem to stay pretty well informed. I was wondering if you might know anything about the rumors about Sigma 957. I heard there were strange things that happened in that place."

The Centauri let loose with a short, but very convincing growl.

"Yes, I know something about that," he said, "but I think you would be better off asking G'kar. After all, his people are the ones who jealously claim that system as part of their former territory, despite the fact that they never had the resources to actually exploit it. They never even did a good job of exploring it! Now, because of their poor methods of stellar mapping, every ship gets lost when they go there. Of course, the Narn blame it on some unknown alien race, and people who actually manage to make it back have to blame it on power failures and strange sightings, rather than just coming out and saying, 'Oh, how was _I_ supposed to know that there was a planet there to crash into? The _Narn_ said that it was just more empty space!'"

Again Mollari seemed to loose the will to continue ranting.

"There," he said at length, "does that answer your question, Mr. Montoya?"

Richard Montoya nodded solemnly, hoping to give the high-strung alien the impression that he had understood everything, and sympathized with the Ambassador's position.

"Yes, Ambassador, I think that answer is quite adequate," he said. "Now, however, I think we must part company. I have several things to do, and not much time to do them in."

"Good, good," Mollari replied, turning back to the bar. "You do that."

**Unknown Passageway, Blue Sector, Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 25, 2260**

**1137 hrs**

Commander Montoya was walking with purpose, even though he had no idea where he was going. He needed to find someone named G'kar, who was apparently a former ambassador for the Narn people, before their world had fallen to the Centauri in this reality. The Terran Alliance officer knew what a Narn looked like, since that species was on the Alliance's protected worlds list, but he always had trouble telling any two apart.

Montoya was deep in thought as he walked down the hall, and when his right arm shot out to detain one of the orange-skinned reptilians going in the other direction, he was almost as surprised as the alien.

The big Narn recovered his balance quickly, and looked at Montoya as the human withdrew his hand.

"Is there some way I can assist you, Human?" the alien asked.

Montoya replied, "Yes, actually, there is. Do you know where I might find Citizen G'kar?"

"I might," the Narn said, taking on a smug and slightly condescending posture.

He continued, "The question is, what is that information worth to you?"

Montoya sighed and pulled out a small, Earth Alliance five-credit chip.

Holding it up, he said, "Will this do?"

The alien snatched the credit chip from his hand and then began speaking very quickly.

"Go down this passage and take the first turn on your left," he said, holding Montoya's shoulder and pointing in the direction indicated. "There you will find a transport tube. Take it down two levels and go thirty feet down the hall from there. Citizen G'kar's quarters are the third door on the right."

With that he let Montoya go and continued on the way he had come. The human watched him leave, and then started off on the course that he'd been given.

**Two minutes later…**

Montoya stepped off the lift and walked down the hall, keeping an eye out for the door his impromptu guide had mentioned. When he got there, however, he noticed that there was indeed a Narn standing outside the door, and he was sure it was the same Narn that had given him the directions! He was made even more certain of it by the self-satisfied smile stretching across the alien's face.

"Citizen G'kar," Montoya said, smiling slightly. He held out his hand, palm up. "I'll take my five credits back now."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never seen you before in my life," G'kar said, feigning ignorance, though the smile remained in place. Still, he removed the currency from a hidden area under one of his gauntlets and deposited it into Montoya's hand.

Still amused, G'kar said, "My apologies for the deception. You must be the only sentient on Babylon 5 that doesn't recognize me, and it's not often I get to play a practical joke.

"Now, I believe you have my name, but I don't have yours, Mr…"

"Richard Montoya," the Commander said.

"Yes, Mr. Montoya. Now, what did you want to see me about, that you would go around simply asking Narns about my location?"

Montoya went straight to the point, though he kept the tone light.

"I've heard some rumors about a system called Sigma 957, and I was told you were the one who could give me information about it."

G'kar instantly sobered.

"What is your interest in Sigma 957?" he asked. His tone was suspicious, but not accusing.

Montoya replied, "My superiors are interested in sending an expedition there, but they have heard whispers that this would be a bad idea. They want to know why."

"Your superiors have heard right," G'kar said. "Sigma 957 is an unhealthy place for our kind. Two years ago a woman took an Earth Alliance survey ship to that system, and if it weren't for my intervention, she would never have returned; and earlier this year we detected another ship that went there. The rumor is that it was someone of Babylon 5's command staff, but they have kept very quiet about it. They found something, too."

He continued, stepping closer to Montoya and lowering his voice until it was barely above a whisper. "There are beings who have claimed that system for their own, Mr. Montoya. Beings who are millions of years older than any of our races, and whose knowledge of the universe is vast and timeless; so much so that it is conceivable that they do not even realize we are there, or if they do, they do not care.

"No one knows who they are or where they truly come from. In truth, no one really knows much at all about them, except perhaps the Vorlons, and they will not speak about it. All anyone knows for certain is that whoever and whatever they are, they walk near Sigma 957."

With that G'kar bid the Human a good day, and then walked away. Montoya remained for a moment, and then continued on his way, as well. He had to get back to the _Solaris_ and report to Admiral Remington immediately…

**Council Chambers, Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 25, 2260**

**1458 hrs**

As per usual, the official meeting chambers for the races who'd signed the Babylon Charter was in utter chaos. Every ambassador from every race had something to say to someone, and they all seemed to be shouting. Some were discussing the upcoming agenda, others were discussing the mystery surrounding the new aliens they were going to meet, but mostly the delegates were simply arguing with someone about one treaty or another, which they considered to be of vastly greater importance. Only Minbari Ambassador Delenn and Ambassador Kosh maintained their peace, silently waiting for Captain Sheridan to arrive.

Finally the Human representing the station walked in, followed by Garibaldi and two of his security personnel. Sheridan was wearing his dress uniform, including every honor he warranted, clearly trying to present the image of authority that he felt it would take to maintain order throughout the session. The presence of the security personnel meant that he might fail in spite of that image. Whatever he had to say was obviously going to be important, and, most likely, controversial.

"This meeting of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds and the Babylon Council is now called to order," Sheridan said, starting the meeting.

They began by re-hashing all the articles from the previous session, and then moved on. There was some discussion of various treaties, diplomatic envoys to be sent hither and yon, and other mundane topics that the council was used to discussing. As time moved on, however, even the most preoccupied ambassador began to wonder if Sheridan would get around to mentioning the aliens, and what sort of mystery that might reveal.

At last they came down to it.

"Last on the agenda," Sheridan said, "is the question that has been on everyone's minds. I know because I've been listening to your requests and complaints about the newcomers for the past few days. I regret the secrecy with which we have proceeded, and apologize for having to keep you all in the dark, but the nature of some of our guests warranted caution.

"We've recently made contact with not one, but two powerful alien races who have expressed an interest in joining this council by signing the Babylon Charter. We'll discuss the terms of this move at a later date. For now I'd simply like to introduce them, and make a few comments on each.

"Let me preface this by saying that their story is incredible, and difficult to believe for more than one reason, so please bear with me. Both races claim to have come here from another reality, using an artifact they found." Sheridan had to pause in his narration as exclamations of disbelief sprang up around the room. He simply stood there until everyone had run out of questions and accusations. When they were quiet, he continued.

"I am inclined to believe them, for reasons you'll understand shortly. First I'll mention the race that owns the ship you've all seen parked outside. Many of you have commented on how close it resembles Human tech. That's because it is. They call themselves the 'Terran Alliance', and we've never had contact with them before. They were completely ignorant of the current political situation, and exercised a complete lack of knowledge of the universe as a whole. In good faith, they have sent a representative here, one Commander Richard Montoya, who will be negotiating on behalf of his government."

No one noticed the look of complete and utter shock that fell over Ambassador Mollari as Commander Montoya stepped into view. Every ambassador in the room was trying to figure out if what Sheridan had said was true. Judging by appearances, it was conceivable. Montoya was dressed in a Terran Alliance dress uniform; the material of both the trousers and the blouse was as black as space itself, with a single row of gold buttons fastening the uniform blouse at the midline. The black was starkly accented with blood red piping, and his neck was covered by a stiff, two-inch high collar. The silver oak leaves of a full commander sat on passants on his shoulders. His left breast was awash with honors and accolades from various campaigns, and a scarlet and gold aiguillette was wrapped around his left shoulder. On his left sleeve was the patch of the TA- the inside field was navy blue, with three white eight-point stars arranged in an equilateral triangle, connected by white lines. In the center of the triangle was a broadsword with its point to the top star. Completely encircling the field were the names of the five core systems controlled by the TA- Earth, Hitomi, Vision, Proxima, and Wolf. Surrounding the blue field was a red border, bearing the motto of the TA: _Ex Cinis Cineris Licentia. _Out of Ashes, Freedom. There were scroll patches both above and below the TA patch, both red with gold text- the topmost said Navy, indicating his branch of service, while the bottom held the name of his ship, the _TAS Solaris_.

Montoya also carried a hat in his left hand. It was a service cap, as was traditionally worn in western Earth militaries. The crown was as black as the visor and the rest of the uniform, while the strap was pure scarlet. The gold emblem on the cap was the traditional Solforce emblem: a blank planet with both latitude and longitudinal lines, supported at the base by a set of wings, all superimposed over a point-down broadsword, so that the sword appeared to be thrust into the planet from the northern pole. Black dress shoes polished to a mirror shine completed the ensemble.

Stepping forward, he addressed the assembled sentients.

"Some of you have already spoken with me," he said. He spoke clearly, though he had a touch of an exotic accent. "For those of you that haven't, I'll fill you in. I've spoken to some of your peers in this room, questioning them about the local state of affairs around this part of space. I haven't been trying to dig up any state secrets, so get those thoughts out of you heads right now. The TA couldn't care less about what squabbles you have with whom. What we care about is the Shadows, what they're up to, what their capabilities are, who their allies are, and what sort of long-term goals they might have.

"I know it's hard to believe, but we are actually from another reality, and we're just learning about your area of space. Until we get up to speed, we'll be keeping a low profile, but expect either myself or one of my crew to be paying each of you an official visit over the course of the next few days." He turned to Sheridan and nodded, indicating that he had finished.

The Captain again turned to the ambassadors.

He said, "The other race you may or may not have noticed. They have no substantial presence in this system that we know about, but they have also seen fit to send representatives here. Like each of us in this room now, we are different in more ways than just our outward appearances. We think differently, we have different languages and customs, we hold different values, and we view the universe in different ways. We are all civilized, however, and we recognize that not everyone views the universe as we do. Likewise we understand that not all sentient races experience life as we do." Sheridan spared a glance at Delenn, who smiled at him with approval. She had helped him prepare for this, as they had decided it would be best if she kept herself in reserve, in case they didn't respond to the Captain.

Turning again to face the League members, he continued.

"The Liir are different, as well," he said. "They have what to us may seem a strange way of looking at things. Their thoughts are different, and the ways in which they communicate are different. Some of us will be automatically prejudiced against them; some of you will not. In order to help bring us together, I took the liberty of speaking with Ambassador Taal of the Hyach about this, and she has agreed to speak on behalf of the Liir."

At his motion, the stately Hyach stood from her place among the delegates and, ignoring the hostile expressions on some of their faces, stepped up beside the Captain.

"Captain Sheridan is correct," she said. "The Liir are different. Very different. I will not lie- they are telepathic, down to the last member of their race. I have spoken with the Black, the Liir who has come here as a representative of his people. I have listened to him as I was trained to listen to telepaths. We Hyach understand that telepathy cannot be ignored, and so we teach all of our ambassadors to know when a telepath lies, and we can tell when we are being manipulated, even if we can't prevent it.

"In speaking with the Liir I have learned much. First, he did not lie to me, no matter how distasteful or undiplomatic my questions were. Second, he understood the misgivings that many of us will have towards him and his race. They offer their aid and friendship freely, and so long as we do not betray that, we will not have issues with them. I warn you, however; they are powerful, so before you make your decisions for your entire world, make sure your choice truly is in the best interests of the people you represent. If you choose based on your own prejudices, then I truly pity your worlds."

Her words earned a sharp glare from both Sheridan and Delenn, who went as far as to partially stand up, when Taal continued.

"The Captain has also given me the honor of introducing this new race. The Black is the high commander of the Liirian armed forces, and as such can inform you of all decisions that his military makes."

Taal gestured, and the Black's intimidating bulk partially entered the room. Each ambassador felt a welcoming calm waft over them for a fleeting second, and many of them recognized the feeling as having come from the Liir. Those individuals immediately stood and began shouting, with the Drazi ambassador being the most vocal.

"This is unacceptable! To place this… Thing! In here with us is an outrage! I will not-"

"SILENCE!"

The powerful, musical command cut through the noise like a knife through butter. All turned to face Kosh, even the Black.

The musical sound of the Vorlon began, and Kosh spoke, saying, "The light is to be trusted, as the darkness is to be feared."

Delenn was the first to dare to speak, stepping around the table so that she was standing beside Sheridan and Taal.

Bowing slightly, she said, "With respect, Ambassador, we do not understand."

"Look to the ships," the Vorlon replied.

Turning to the Liir, the ancient ambassador said simply, "Come."

_Acknowledgement, _the Black sent, and each representative present heard it. It was not a precise word in any one language, but a simple, base thought that needed no translation projected to the room in general. That finished, both the Liir and the Vorlon left the Council Chambers, and the shouting started again.

Eventually, the Drazi Ambassador, Vizak, gained the floor.

"Captain Sheridan," he said, "what are you playing at? This Human," he indicated Commander Montoya, "could, and probably is, playing you for a fool! He could be any number of things, including a raider just waiting for us to accept him so he can find out what ship schedules each of us have.

"And as for that… _alien…_ I don't know what the Vorlon wants with it, but keep it away from us!"

Delenn stepped forward angrily.

"Calm down, Ambassador!" she commanded. "Everyone, calm down. Please.

"Yes, the Liir are different, and yes, we are still wary of the Terran Alliance's origins, but that does not change the facts that we ourselves have seen! I have valid reports from the Anla'shok that say that both of these groups are capable of fighting the Shadows! They have offered their help; would you spurn this unique opportunity?"

"Ambassador Delenn's right," Sheridan agreed. "You've all been asking us to prove that we have power equal to the Shadows, well here it is! Ambassador Shay'la," he turned to the Gaim ambassador, "you said that you would consider getting involved on behalf of the Brakiri if we could show you a chance to win. Will you reconsider your earlier decision if we show you the recordings of the battle?"

All eyes turned to the Gaim and the room again went quiet. Sheridan knew that if one of them accepted the newcomers, the others would be apt to follow. It would also save Sheridan the trouble of trying to convince the Vorlons to get involved.

The Gaim stood and said, "No. We do not recognize this power. Even if you were to show us the recordings, it is a single battle, in a localized area. The newcomers may not be able to provide enough help to turn the tide of war. No, we will continue to stay quiet."

Sheridan sighed. There went that plan. Especially since Montoya had already told him that they wouldn't have enough forces built up in this universe to actually make a difference for at least another week. The Captain began to consider his options as the council once again descended into chaos…

**Captain's Quarters, Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 26, 2260**

**2300 hrs**

It had been a busy day. The ambassadors were all still squabbling about what to do with the newcomers, as well as what to do about the Shadows. Sheridan had managed to corner Ambassador Kosh and get him to agree to send out a strike force to engage the Shadows, and the Vorlon had come through faster than anyone could have guessed. With all the League ambassadors in the War Room early in the afternoon, the Vorlons had arrived and destroyed an entire Shadow strike force. It wasn't much, but it had been enough to get the rest of the League to sign on with Babylon 5.

The rest of the day and most of the evening had been spent hashing out plans for the future, and it had been 2230 hrs before anyone had realized it. Sheridan had wanted to thank Kosh personally before he turned in, but Ivanova had convinced him otherwise. She was right, too, good news could wait, at least a little while…

**Alien Sector, near Ambassador Kosh's quarters, Independent Space Station Babylon 5**

**Epsilon Eridani System**

**September 27, 2260**

**0030 hrs**

Briishiibi (water flowing over the body in a burst of speed) was on his way to see the Vorlon ambassador, carrying a response from the Black. The young bodyguard liked Kosh, the being was considerate and compassionate, even kind in its own way, and it seemed to only have the best interest of all sentients in mind. Protecting life and establishing order seemed to be Kosh's only goals in life. Briishiibi (water flowing over the body in a burst of speed) didn't necessarily agree with Kosh's statements about the necessity of order, discipline, and obedience, but then, he was still young, while the Vorlon was ancient.

The Black Swimmer continued thinking such light thoughts to himself as he moved through the corridors, ignoring the looks he got from everyone he passed. As he neared the Ambassador's quarters, however, he began to grow more and more uneasy. There was an evil feeling in the air, and dark emotions seemed to start pressing in from all sides. He found himself swimming faster and faster towards his destination, a sense of dread falling over him.

The liir was almost traveling at full speed when he rounded the last corner, and found a human standing at the open door to Ambassador Kosh's quarters, from which blinding flashes of light and the sounds of struggle emerged. Briishiibi (water flowing over the body in a burst of speed) didn't recognize him, but his thoughts were evil, singing of nothing but murder and revenge.

The bodyguard's concern turned into rage, and he continued at full speed, slamming into the human, giving a small telekinetic shove for good measure, and was satisfied to see the land-dweller fly a good fifteen feet down the corridor. Using all his strength, Briishiibi pulled plating from the walls and ceiling, and sealed the human inside a metal cocoon, ensuring that he wouldn't interfere with the rest of the fight.

Feeling his strength wane and his mind tire from his exertions, the young liir automatically reached out with his mind to connect with an ally. The Black was too far away, but to his surprise, Kosh's mind openly linked to his! Briishiibi felt the strength and wisdom of millennia uncounted flow through his mind, rejuvenating him and filling him with confidence. With the strength, however, came the pain! Kosh was hurt already, and was losing the fight against three unknown assailants.

Briishiibi was charging into the room even as he linked minds with the Vorlon, and threw himself into the fray. Liirian culture dictated that elders were one of the most precious things the Universe provided them with, and were to be protected at all costs. Young Liir had been known to die in droves as they threw themselves headlong into danger to protect an elder. And so it was with Briishiibi as he felt along the life signs of his opponents.

Kosh was injured, but not mortally, and he appeared to have one enemy almost defeated. Briishiibi focused on the creature nearest himself. He noticed that it faded in and out of visual sight, almost completely phasing out of the normal quantum rhythm. To Liirian sonar, however, it was as real and solid as any other enemy. He focused on its bio signatures, trying to find the right major organs, so he could apply pressure and cause a catastrophic system failure.

The Shadow's physiology was extremely complex, however, and Briishiibi didn't notice the other Shadow quickly moving around the room until it struck him with one of its large, blade-like appendages. The strike cut right through the liir's landsuit and pierced the flesh right behind the dorsal fin. The aquatic mammal screamed in pain, both telepathically and sonically, and then used his tail to strike the one that had hit him. The Shadow almost phased out in time, but still caught a piece of the blow. It was staggered, and that was all the time Briishiibi needed to finish off the other. Seeing that he didn't have time to continue figuring out the Shadow's physiology, he simply picked it up telekinetically and began bashing it into the floor and ceiling as quickly as possible, until all he could feel and see was a disintegrating mass of jelly.

He dropped the remains, noting with satisfaction the wet _splat!_ it made as it hit the deck one final time. Unfortunately, he had forgotten about the third assailant in the room. The Shadow slammed into Briishiibi and landed two heavy, devastating blows before the liir could manage to get away again. The Shadow followed up, attacking with cold, calculated strikes, seeking to cause pain as well as death. Briishiibi was barely able to hold his own for a few seconds, and was about to fall prey to another slash, when a bright flash of light heralded the demise of the Shadow Kosh was fighting, and the Vorlon turned its attention on Briishiibi's attacker.

Between the two of them, the struggle was soon over. The liir looked over the elder he had sought to protect, seeing if there was anything else he could do to assist him. Kosh's encounter suit was damaged in several places, and Briishiibi could tell that he was in pain, but it didn't look like anything he could fix.

_Are you alright, Elder?_ The young bodyguard asked.

Apparently whatever apparatus Kosh used to communicate had survived intact, because he spoke vocally.

"Yes." He said. On a telepathic channel, however, he also sent, _Gratitude._

_In death I serve, Elder, _Briishiibi said, though he was unable to stop the burst of pride from bubbling to the surface at the praise.

"Why are you here?" Kosh asked. The liir immediately remembered why he had been sent.

_The Black says that he accepts the boundaries you have set, Elder, _he said.

"Good," Kosh replied. "You have done well. Go, care for your wounds. Tomorrow I will ease your pain."

Briishiibi (water flowing over the body in a burst of speed) then left Kosh, knowing exactly what the Vorlon had meant. He painfully swam back to the docking bays, leaking blood and Liquid Oxygen Medium as he went, and the guilt began setting in…


End file.
